
Glass. 
Book. 



V* 



ENGLISHWOMAN Il^B-G^gf^ 



-|W) 




II. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
G. B. Z E I B E R & CO. 

1845. 



/ 



No. I. 

OF THE 

HOME AND TRAVELLER'S LIBRARY 

CONTAINED 

TEXAS 

AND 

THE GULF OF MEXICO; 

OR 

YACHTING IN THE NEW WORLD. £ $ 3 

BY MRS. HOUSTOUN. /JT 

With. Illustrations. $**£*4 

No. II. 

THE 

ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT, 

BY MRS. POOLE. 

To be followed, at intervals of about two weeks, by 
No. III. 

NIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. 

AND 

No. IV. 
SKETCHES 

OF 

CREDULITY, IMPOSTURE AND DECEPTION. 
ETC. ETC. ETC. 



7 



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THE S^> ** ^^lX*^— m _ 

ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT; ' 

LETTERS FROM CAIRO, • 



WRITTEN DURING A RESIDENCE THERE IN 1842, 3, & 4. 



E. W. LANE, Esq., 



AUTHOR OF " THE MODERN EGYPTIANS, 



BY HIS SISTER, 



r 



^)T«»»^ , 



PHILADELPHIA: 

G, B. ZIEBER & CO. 
1845. 









C. Sherman. Printer. Philadelphia. 



PREFACE. 



The desire of shortening the period of my separation 
from a beloved brother, was the first and strongest motive 
that induced me to think of accompanying him to the 
country in which I am now writing, and which he was 
preparing to visit for the third time. An eager curiosity, 
mainly excited by his own publications, greatly increased 
this desire ; and little persuasion on his part was neces- 
sary to draw me to a decision ; but the idea was no sooner 
formed than he found numerous arguments in its favour. 
The opportunities I might enjoy of obtaining an insight 
into the mode of life of the higher classes of the ladies in 
this country, and of seeing many things highly interest- 
ing in themselves, and rendered more so by their being 
accessible only to a lady, suggested to him the idea that 
I might both gratify my own curiosity, and collect much 
information of a novel and interesting nature, which he 
proposed I should embody in a series of familiar letters 
to a friend. To encourage me to attempt this latter ob- 
ject, he placed at my disposal a large collection of his 
own unpublished notes, that I might extract from them, 



and insert in my letters whatever I might think fit ; and 
in order that I might record my impressions and obser- 
vations with less restraint than I should experience if 
always feeling that I was writing for the press, he pro- 
mised me that he would select those letters which he 
should esteem suitable for publication, and mark them to 
be copied. The present selection has been made by him ; 
and I fear the reader may think that affection has some- 
times biassed his judgment; but am encouraged to hope 
for their favourable reception, for the sake of the more 
solid matter with which they are interspersed, from the 
notes of one to whom Egypt has become almost as fami- 
liar as England. 

Sophia Poole. 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER I. 

Approach to Alexandria — Old and new harbours— General as- 
pect of the town — Costume and appearance of the inhabi- 
tants — Shops and shopkeepers — European part of town — 
Pharos (or lighthouse) 13 



LETTER II. 

Situation and construction of Alexandria — Supply of water — 
Climate and degree of salubrity — Telegraphs — City wall — 
Cleopatra's Needle — Pompey's Pillar — Tradition respecting 
the burning of the Alexandrian Library — Necropolis of 
Alexandria 21 



LETTER III. 

Voyage from Alexandria to Cairo — Canal from Alexandria to 
the Nile — Boats on the Nile — Town of Fooweh — Village of 
Shubra Kheet — Ancient town of Sais, and present state of 
the remains — Egyptian festivals — Voyage up the Nile — 
Boats and boatmen — Instances of mirage — Banks of the 
Nile — Arrival at Boulak, and equipment in Egyptian cos- 
tume—Ride from Boulak to Cairo - - - 31 
1* 



LETTER IV. 

Arrival at Cairo— Bridal processions — Funeral processions — 
General form of construction of the better class of houses 
in Cairo — Annoyance arising from the supposed visits of an 
'efreet (evil spirit or ghost)— Extraordinary noises made by 
the supposed 'efreet — Want of cleanliness of the female 
servants 43 



LETTER V. 

General physical sketch of Egypt — Lower Egypt — The Nile 
—The valleys of the Nile— Soil and cultivation— Annual 
inundation of Lower Egypt by the Nile — Gradual rise and 
decrease of the river — Use of the Avater for drinking — 
Rapidity of the current, and navigation of the river - 52 



LETTER VI. 

Physical sketch of Egypt, continued — Climate of Egypt — Heat 
— Infrequency of rain — Prevalence of northwesterly winds 
— Other winds — Khamaseen winds — The Samoom — Whirl- 
ing pillars of sand — The'sarab,'or mirage — Irrigation of the 
fields— Physical and agricultural calendar of Egypt for each 
month of the year 59 



LETTER VII. 

The Ramadan, or month of abstinence — Severity of the fast- 
ing — Imposing effect of the night-call to prayer by the 
Mueddins — Meals at night during the Ramadan — Oppres- 
sive heat, and annoyance occasioned by insects and vermin 
— Flies, musquitoes, bugs, fleas, rats, lizards, spiders, scor- 
pions — Extraordinary storm of wind — Unusual rise of the 
Nile — Murrain among the cattle 70 



LETTER VIII. 

Danger in travelling through the streets of Cairo — Prejudice 
against Europeans, and oppressive treatment of Christians 
and Jews — Procession of the Mahmal, preparatory to the 
departure of the great caravan of pilgrims for Mekkah — 
Origin of the ceremony of the Mahmal 76 



LETTER IX. 

General appearance of Cairo — Narrowness of the 'shares,' or 
great thoroughfare-streets, and inconveniences of transit 
through them — Costume of the inhabitants, as seen in the 
streets— Shops — 4 Darbs,' or by-streets — ' Sooks,' or markets 
— Khans — Khan El-Khaleelee — ' Wekaleh-el-Gellabeh,' or 
market of the slave-merchants — Quarters of the Jews, 
Greeks, Copts, and Franks — Vacant spaces, lakes, cemete- 
ries, and gardens of the city — * El-Khaleeg,' the canal 
which traverses the city — General description of the mos- 
ques 81 



LETTER X, 

Difficulty experienced by Europeans of obtaining access to the 
, interiors of the principal mosques — Mosque of the Hasaneyn 
— Custom of taking off the shoes or slippers — El-Zame-el- 
Azhar, or ' the splendid mosque' — Paupers supported in the 
mosques — Variety of scenes presented by worshippers, lec- 
turers, and students — Mosque of Mohammed Bey — Ruinous 
state of the mosque of the Khaleefeh El-Hakim - - 81 



LETTER XL 

Collegiate mosque called Barkookeeyeh — Tomb, mosque, and 
hospital of the Sultan Kala-oon — State and treatment of the 



CONTENTS. 

lunatics confined in the maristan, or hospital — Anecdotes 
concerning the lunatics — Mosques of the Sultan El-Gh6ree f 
the Sultan El-Mu-eiyad, and the Sultan Hasan — Mosque of 
Ibn-Tooloon — Ruined castle or palace called Kal'at-el-Kebsh, 
or Castle of the Ram — Sebeels, or public fountains — Hods, 
or watering-places for beasts of burden — Hammams, or pub- 
lic baths — Kahwehs, or coffee-shops 97 



LETTER XII. 

Citadel of Cairo — Ruins of the old palace called Kasr Yoosuf, 
or Deewan Yoosuf— Remarkable view of Cairo from the 
edge of the hill on which are the remains of ' the house of 
Yoosuf Salah-ed-Deen' — The celebrated well of Yoosuf 
Salah-ed-Deen — Mount Mukattam — Cemeteries — Lakes and 
gardens — Aqueduct by which the water of the Nile is con- 
veyed to the citadel — Island of Er-Rodah, or ' island of the 
garden' — Town of Masr el-'Ateekah — Mosque of 'Amr — 
Kasr esh-Shema, an old Roman fortress — Town of El-Geezeh 
— Shubra, the favourite country residence of the Pasha — 
Site of Heliopolis— Village of El-Khankeh - - 108 

LETTER XIII, 

Various noises made in " the haunted house" by the sup- 
posed 'efreet — Appearances and proceedings of the pre- 
tended spirit — is shot at by one of the servants - - 119 



LETTER XIV. 

Visits to some of the principal hareems — Necessity of riding 
the high ass in paying visits to the high hareems — Hareem 
apartments — Costume of the Turkish ladies — Ceremonial 
observance — Use of the Turkish and Arabic languages — 
Manners and customs of the ladies of the East — Fountains 
and baths — Ceremony of re-attiring and taking leave 124 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER XV. 

The 4£ haunted house"— Climate of Egypt — State of the poor — 
Respect paid to the mother of a family — The wife — Prepa- 
ration of food and manner of eating — Eastern etiquette — 
Dinner arrangements — Sacrednessof the hareem,and respect 
paid to females — Usage of marrying without having seen 
the future wife 131 



LETTER XVI. 

Treatment of slaves in Egypt — Dancing and singing — Influ- 
ence and power of wives among the higher classes, and ty- 
ranny of husbands among the lower classes — Employments 
of females in the hareem — Beauty of the embroidery ex- 
cuted by them — Can seldom read and write - - 139 



LETTER XVII. 

Plague in Egypt — Means used to ascertain whether the dis- 
ease be contagious or not — Enforcement of quarantine — 
Egypt visited by pestilence, murrain, and locusts — Extrava- 
gance of marriage festivities — Fondness of the Egyptians for 
gardens and water — Extreme heat - 144 

LETTER XVIII. 

Distress exhibited by the females of the hareem of a Turkish 
grandee, in consequence of his imprisonment — Fear of the 
* evil eye' — Interest which the ladies of the hareem take in 
politics— Courteous manners of the chief ladies, and dress 
and ornaments worn by them — Large serpent — Serpent- 
charmers — Intended repairs of Cairo — An instance of pre- 
tended death and burial. 149 



CONTENTS. 



LETTER XIX. 



Visit to the hareem of Mohammad 'Alee — Decorations of the 
rooms and splendour of the furniture — Reception by the 
wives of the Pasha — Dinner, dinner-arrangements, and cour- 
tesy displayed by the chief ladies — Number of beautiful 
women in the hareem of Mohammad 'Alee — Description of 
the dress worn by the Turkish ladies in Egypt - 156 



LETTER XX. 

Etiquette of the harcems as to order and precedence — Ar- 
rangement of the apartments, and doorkeepers— Facility of 
admission to the houses of grandees, as distinct from the 
hareems — Turkish etiquette and French politeness — Organi- 
zation of the hareems — Modesty of the females — Prejudices 

i against Christianity — Maternal tenderness, and superstitions 
of the ■ evil eye,' — Uncouth dresses worn by the females 
in winter — Climate in winter, and storm of thunder and 
rain 164 



LETTER XXI. 

Visit to the eldest daughter of Mohammad 'Alee — Affability 
of the reception, company present, and general ceremonial 
of visiting — Her Highness's pipes — Bridal processions among 
the middle classes — Ignominious punishment of four law- 
yers — Circumstances connected with the early marriage of 
females 172 



LETTER XXII. 

Treatment of females in the hareems — Cruelty practised by 
the middle and lower orders — Missionary Society in Cairo 
— Instances of cruel treatment of wives, children and slaves 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

Muslim ceremonies with respect to the dead — hired mourn- 
ers, &c. — Cemeteries and tombs — Tombs of the family of 
Mohammed 'Alee 178 



LETTER XXIII. 

Visit to the pyramids— Approach to the pyramids, and inade- 
quate idea of their dimensions — Tombs occupied as dwell- 
ings — Circumstances connected with Mr. Lane's visit to the 
pyramids in 1825 — Guards and attendants at the present 
visit — Description of the Great Pyramid — Dr. Lepsius's ac- 
count of the mode of construction — Present state of the exte- 
rior of the Great Pyramid — View from the top — Dangers to 
which visiters to the pyramids are exposed - - 186 



LETTER XXIV. 

Description of the interior of the Great Pyramid — Opinions 
concerning it 201 



LETTER XXV. 

Description of the Second Pyramid — The Third Pyramid — 
Other Pyramids — The Great Sphinx — Bedawees - 213 



LETTER XXVL 

Performances of the celebrated magician of the city of Cairo. 

219 

LETTER XXVII. 

Description of the baths for females in the city of Cairo — Ar- 
rangement of the apartments, and appearance of the females 
—Operations of the bath - 225 



LETTER XXVIII. 

Wives of Mohammad 'Alee — Visit to his hareem in the cita- 
del — Apartments and reception — Ceremony on quitting this 
hareem — Visit to the hareem of Habeeb EfTendee — Courte- 
ous behaviour of his wife and daughters, and political con- 
versation with them— Mrs. Darner's " Tour" - - - 228 



THE 



ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER I. 

Alexandria, July, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

The blessing of going into port, at the conclusion of a 
first long voyage, awakens feelings so deep and so last- 
ing, that it must form a striking era in the life of every 
traveller. Eagerly, during a long morning, did I and my 
children strain our eyes as the low uninteresting coast of 
Egypt spread before our view, that we might catch the 
first glimpse of one or more of those monuments of which 
we had hitherto only heard or read. The first object 
which met our view was the Arab Tower, which stands 
on a little elevation; and shortly after, the new light- 
house on the peninsula of the Pharos, and the Pasha's 
army of windmills, showed our near approach to Alexan- 
dria, and the Pillar (commonly called Pompey's) seemed 
to rise from the bay. 

The coast presents to the Mediterranean a long sandy 

flat, bearing throughout a most desolate aspect, and in no 

part more so than in the neighbourhood of Alexandria. 

To the west of this town we see nothing but a tract cf 

2 



14 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

yellowish calcareous rock and sand, with here and there 
a few stunted palm-trees, which diversify but little the 
dreary prospect. 

The old or western harbour (anciently called Eunostus 
Portus) is deeper and more secure than the new harbour 
(which is called Magnus Portus). The former, which 
was once exclusively appropriated to the vessels of the 
IVJuslims, is now open to the ships of all nations ; and the 
latter, which was " the harbour of the infidels," is almost 
deserted. The entrance of the old harbour is rendered 
difficult by reefs of rocks, leaving three natural passages, 
of which the central has the greatest depth of water. 
The rocks occasion a most unpleasant swell, from which 
we all suffered, but I especially ; and I cannot describe 
how thankfully I stepped on shore, having passed the 
smooth water of the harbour. Here already I see so 
much upon which to remark, that I must indulge myself 
by writing two or three letters before our arrival in Cairo, 
where the state of Arabian society being unaltered by 
European innovations, I hope to observe much that will 
interest you with respect to the condition of the native 
female society. I do not mean to give you many re- 
marks on the manners and customs of the male portion 
of the people, my brother having written so full a de- 
scription of them, the correctness of which has been at- 
tested by numerous persons, who cannot be suspected (as 
his sister might be) of undue partiality. 

To tell you of our landing, of the various and violent 
contentions of the Arab boatmen for the conveyance of 
our party, of our really polite reception at the custom- 
house, and of our thankfulness when enjoying the quiet 
of our hotel, would be to detain you from subjects far 
more interesting ; but I long to describe the people by 
,whom we were surrounded, and the noisy crowded streets 
and lanes through which we passed. The streets, until 
we arrived at the part of the town inhabited by Franks, 
^were so narrow that it was extremely formidable to meet 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 15 

any thing on our way. They are miserably close, and 
for the purpose of shade, the inhabitants have in many 
cases thrown matting from roof to roof, extending across 
the street, with here and there a small aperture to admit 
light; but the edges of these apertures are generally 
broken, and the torn matting hanging down : in short, 
the whole appearance is gloomy and wretched. I ought 
not, however, to complain of the narrowness of the streets, 
for where the sun is not excluded by matting, the deep 
shade produced by the manner in which the houses are 
constructed, is most welcome in this sunny land; and, 
indeed, when we arrived at the Frank part of the town, 
which is in appearance almost European, and where a 
wide street and a fme open square, form a singular con- 
trast to the Arab part of the town, we scarcely congra- 
tulated ourselves; for the heat was intense, and we 
hastened to our hotel, and gratefully enjoyed the breeze 
which played through the apartments. I hear that many 
persons prefer the climate of Alexandria to that of Cairo, 
and pronounce it to be more salubrious ; but a Caireen 
tells me that their opinion is false — that it is certainly 
cooler, but that the air is extremely damp, and although 
the inhabitants generally enjoy a sea-breeze, that luxury 
involves some discomfort. 

But I must tell you of the people ; for there appeared 
to my first view none but dignified grandees, in every 
variety of costume, and miserable beggars, so closely as- 
sembled in the narrow streets, that it seemed as though 
they had congregated on the occasion of some public fes- 
tival. On examining more closely, however, I found 
many gradations in the style of dress of the middle and 
higher classes ; but the manner of the Eastern (even that 
of the well-clothed servant) is so distinguished, and their 
carriage is so superior, that a European glancing for the 
first time at their picturesque costume, and observing 
their general bearing, may be perfectly at a loss as to 
what may be their position in society. 



16 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

I believe that I have already seen persons of almost 
every country bordering on the Mediterranean, and I can 
convey but a very imperfect idea of such a scene. The 
contrast between the rich and gaudy habits of the higher 
classes, and the wretched clothing of the barefooted poor, 
while many children of a large growth are perfectly in a 
state of nudity, produced a most remarkable effect. The 
number of persons nearly or entirely blind, and especially 
the aged blind, affected us exceedingly, but we rejoiced 
in the evident consideration they received from all who 
had occasion to make room for them to pass. I should 
imagine that all who have visited this country have re- 
marked the decided respect which is shown to those who 
are superior in years ; and that this respect is naturally 
rendered to the beggar as well as to the prince. In fact, 
the people are educated in the belief that there is honour 
in the " hoary head," and this glorious sentiment strength- 
ens with their strength, and beautifully influences their 
conduct. 

Many of the poor little infants called forth painfully 
my sympathy : their heads drooped languidly ; and their 
listless, emaciated limbs showed too plainly that their 
little race was nearly run ; while the evident tenderness 
of their mothers made me grieved to think what they 
might be called on to endure. You will naturally infer 
that I expect few children to pass the season of infancy, 
and you will conclude justly : for I cannot look at these 
little creatures, and suppose that they will survive what 
is here the most trying time, the season of dentition. I 
may have been unfortunate ; for among the numerous in- 
fants we have passed, I have only seen two who were 
able to hold their heads in an erect position, and, indeed, 
of those past infancy, most were very wretched-looking 
children. Over their dark complexions there is a white 
leprous hue, and they have a quiet melancholy manner, 
and an air of patient endurance, which affected me sen- 
sibly. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 17 

It is sad to see the evident extreme poverty of the 
lower orders; and the idle, lounging manner of the work- 
ing class surprised me : and yet when called on to labour, 
I am informed that no people work so heartily, and so 
patiently. I rather think they are very like their good 
camels in disposition, with the exception that the latter 
scold often if an attempt be made to overload them, and 
in some cases will not rise from their knees until relieved 
of part of their burden, while the Arabs really suffer 
themselves to be built up with loads as though they had 
no more sense of oppression than a truck or a wheelbar- 
row. The Arab groom, too, will run by the side of his 
master's horse for as many hours as he requires his at- 
tendance without a murmur. The physical strength of 
these people is most extraordinary. I had an opportu- 
nity of remarking this during the removal of our luggage 
from the boat. 

The windows of our hotel command a view of the great 
square, and I can scarcely describe to you the picturesque 
attraction of the scene. Among the various peculiarities 
of dress, feature, and complexion, which characterize the 
natives of Africa and the East, none are more striking 
than those which distinguish the noble and hardy western 
Bedawee, enveloped as he is in his ample woollen shirt, 
or hooded cloak, and literally clothed suitably for a Rus- 
sian winter. You will believe that my attention has been 
directed to the veiled women, exhibiting in their dull dis- 
guise no other attraction than a degree of stateliness in 
their carriage, and a remarkable beauty in their large 
dark eyes, which, besides being sufficiently distinguished 
by nature, are rendered more conspicuous by the black 
border of kohl round the lashes, and by the concealment 
of the rest of the features. The camel-drivers' cries of 
« O'a," " Guarda," and " Sakin,"* resound every where, 

* "Take care," in Arabic, Italian, and Turkish. 
2* 



■ 






18 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

and at every moment, therefore, you may imagine the 
noise and confusion in the streets. 

In the open space before the hotel, there are long trains 
of camels laden with water-skins, or with bales of mer- 
chandise, winding slowly and cautiously along even in 
this wide place, while their noiseless tread, and their dig- 
nified (I might almost say affected) walk, at once distin- 
guishes them from all other beasts of burden. 

I must not omit mentioning the shops of Alexandria, 
for they resemble cupboards rather than rooms ; and this 
I understand to be the case in most Turkish and Arabic 
cities. A raised seat of brick or stone about three feet 
high, and the same or more in width, extends along each 
side of the street, and upon this the tradesman sits before 
his shop, either smoking or at work. It is really amu- 
sing to see how easily they appear to gain their liveli- 
hood : the fact is, that they are an exceedingly contented 
people, and there is much of real philosophy in their con- 
clusions. They are seldom disposed, when working on 
their own account, to labour for more than enough, and 
have the quality, so rarely found in Europe, of consider- 
ing that enough is as desirable as abundance : therefore 
they are happy, and "their best riches, ignorance of 
wealth." I have observed, at corners of the streets, or 
wherever else there was sufficient space, groups of men 
and women seated on the ground, with baskets before 
them containing bread and vegetables for sale. 

The quarter occupied by the Europeans is the south- 
eastern part of the town, by the shore of the new harbour. 
This situation I conclude was chosen for the convenience 
of landing and shipping their merchandise ; but now that 
the old harbour is open to their vessels, the situation is 
not so advantageous for them. On the east side of the 
great square is a large building called the New Wekaleh 
(by the Europeans Occale), for the reception of merchants 
and others, on the shore of the new harbour. It surrounds 



i 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 19 

a spacious square court; and the ground-floor of the 
building consists of magazines towards the court, and 
shops and the entrances of the dwellings towards the 
exterior. 

My brother has given me a piece of information with 
regard to the present Pharos, which you shall receive in 
his own words : — 

" The modern Pharos is a poor successor of the 
ancient building, erected by Sostratus Cnidius, from 
which it derives its name ; though from a distance it has 
rather an imposing appearance. Several Arab historians 
mention the telescopic mirror of metal which was placed 
at the summit of the ancient Pharos. In this mirror, 
vessels might be discerned at sea at a very great dis- 
tance. El-Makreezee* informs us that the Greeks, being 
desirous of effecting the destruction of the Pharos, or of 
obtaining possession of the wonderful mirror, employed 
a deep stratagem. One of their countrymen repaired to 
the sovereign of the Arabs, El-Weleed the son of 'Abd-el- 
Melik, and professed himself a convert to the faith of 
El-Islam, pretending that he*had fled from his king, who 
would have put him to death. He informed the prince 
that he had acquired, from certain books in his posses- 
sion, the art of discovering where treasures were con- 
cealed in the earth, and had thus ascertained that there 
was a valuable treasure, consisting of money and jewels, 
deposited beneath the foundation of the Pharos of Alex- 
andria. The prince, deceived by this artful tale, sent a 
number of workmen with his crafty adviser to pull down 
the Pharos ; and when more than half the building had 
been destroyed, the Greek made his escape to his own 
country, and his artifice thus became manifest. The 
same author relates that part of the Pharos was thrown 
down by an earthquake, in the year of the Flight 177 

* El-Makreezee flourished in the 14th and 15th cen- 
turies. 



20 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

(a. d. 793-4) ; that Ahmad Ibn-Tooloon surmounted it 
with a dome of wood ; and that an inscription upon a 
plate of lead was found upon the northern side, buried in 
the earth, written in ancient Greek characters, every 
letter of which was a cubit in height, and a span in 
breadth. This was perhaps the inscription placed by 
the original architect, and which, according to Strabo, 
was to this effect — ■ Sostratus Cnidius, the son of Dexi- 
phanes, to the protecting gods, for the sake of the mari- 
ners.' It is also related by Es-Sooyootee,* that the 
inhabitants of Alexandria likewise made use of the mir- 
ror above mentioned to burn the vessels of their enemies, 
by directing it so as to reflect the concentrated rays of 
the sun upon them." 

The causeway of stone which connects the fort and 
lighthouse with the peninsula of Pharos, is now called 
Rodat-et-Teen (or the Garden of the Fig), on account of 
a few fig-trees growing there. Its southwestern extre- 
mity is called Ras-et-Teen (or the Cape of the Fig). 
Upon this rocky peninsula are a palace of the Pasha, 
and some other buildings, with the burial-ground of the 
Muslims, adjacent to the town. 

I must endeavour in my next letter to give you a brief 
general account of the town, and must close this by 
remarking on the affecting sound of the Mueddin's chant 
or Muslim call to prayer. I should be grieved to think 
that we are impressed by the solemnity of their sonorous 
voices, simply because we hear them for the first time ; 
and trust we may always feel a mixture of pity and 
admiration when we believe our fellow-creatures to be in 
earnest in the service of God, however mistaken their 
opinions. The sight of the Muslim engaged in his 
devotions I think most interesting ; and it cannot fail, 

* A celebrated Arab theologian and historian, so called 
from his birthplace Usyoot, or Suyoot (commonly pro- 
nounced Asyoot), in Upper Egypt. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 21 

I should hope, in impressing the heholder with some 
degree of veneration. The attitudes are peculiarly 
striking and expressive ; and the solemn demeanour of 
the worshipper, who, even in the busy market-place, 
appears wholly abstracted from the concerns of the 
world, is very remarkable. The practice of praying in 
a public place is so general in the East, and attracts so 
little notice on the part of Muslims, that we must be 
charitable, and must not regard it as a result of hypo- 
crisy or ostentation. 



LETTER II. 

Alexandria, July, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

We find little to interest us in this place, excepting by 
association with bygone times ; therefore our stay will 
not be long. But I will give you concisely an account 
of all that has excited our curiosity. 

I am not disappointed in Alexandria (or, as it is called 
by the natives, El-Iskendereeyeh), for I did not imagine 
it could possess many attractions. It is built upon a 
narrow neck of land, which unites the peninsula of 
Pharos to the continent, and thus forms a double har- 
bour, as did anciently the causeway, which, from its 
length of seven stadia, was called the Heptastadium. 

The ground which is occupied by the modern town 
has been chiefly formed by a gradual deposit of sand on 
each side of the Heptastadium ; and the present situation 
is more advantageous for a commercial city than the 
ancient site. The houses are generally built of white 
calcareous stone, with a profusion of mortar and plaster. 
Some have the foundation walls only of stone, and the 
superstructure of brick. They generally have plain or 



22 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

projecting windows of wooden lattice-work ; but the win- 
dows of some houses, viz., those of Europeans, the palaces 
of the Pasha, the Governor of Alexandria, and a few 
others, are of glass. The roofs are flat and covered with 
cement. There is little to admire in the interior archi- 
tecture of the houses, excepting that they have a sub- 
stantial appearance. Many ancient columns of granite 
and marble have been used in the construction of the 
mosques and private dwellings. 

The water here is far from good ; the inhabitants 
receive their supply from the cisterns under the site of 
the ancient city (of which I must tell you by and by). 
These are filled by subterranean aqueducts from the 
canal during the time of the greatest height of the Nile ; 
but in consequence of the saline nature of the soil through 
which it passes from the river, the water is not good. 
Almost every house has its cistern, which is filled by 
means of skins borne by camels or asses ; and there are 
many wells of brackish water in the town. 

As the northern coast of Egypt has no harbour, ex- 
cepting those of Alexandria, it is a place of considerable 
importance as the emporium and key of Egypt; but 
otherwise it appears to me in no respect a desirable 
residence, and around it nothing but sea and desert 
meets the eye, excepting here and there the house of a 
rich man, and scattered in every direction extensive 
mounds of rubbish. Ancient writers have extolled the 
salubrity of the air of Alexandria. This quality of the 
air was attributed, according to Strabo, to the almost 
insular situation of the city, the sea being on one side, 
and the lake Mareotis on the other. The insalubrity of 
the climate, of later years, has been regarded as the 
result of the conversion of the lake into a salt marsh. 
The English army, in 1801, made a cut by which the 
water of the sea was admitted from the lake of Aboo- 
Keer into the bed of the lake Mareotis ; and the opera- 
tion was repeated by Mohammed 'Alee in 1803, and 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 23 

again by the English in 1807 : on each occasion, as you 
will have supposed, military policy dictated the measure ; 
and as soon as the object in view had been attained, the 
gap was speedily closed, as it cut off the supply of fresh 
water from Alexandria by interrupting the course of the 
canal. While the communication between the two lakes 
remained open, it was not found that the climate of 
Alexandria was at all improved ; and the evaporation of 
the waters of the lake Mareotis afterwards must have 
had a pernicious effect. The damp and rain during the 
winter here, and the heavy dew at night throughout the 
year, have a particularly baneful influence. Cases of 
fever are very general ; and it is always observed that 
this town is one of the places where the plague makes 
its appearance many days earlier than in the interior of 
Egypt. With all these objections to Alexandria as a 
place of residence, it is wonderful that any persons 
should prefer it, and consider the climate more agreeable 
than that of the valley of the Nile, which all allow to be 
so salubrious. 

There is a series of telegraphs from Alexandria to the 
metropolis, a distance of more than a hundred and twenty 
British miles. The towers composing this series are 
nineteen in number; the first is on the peninsula of 
Pharos, and the last in the citadel of Cairo. 

The wall which surrounds the site of the old Arab 
city was rebuilt not many years since. This work was 
commenced in 1811. Mohammed 'Alee, fearing another 
invasion of the French, deemed it necessary to strengthen 
this place ; for the wall I have mentioned defends the 
town on the land side, and surrounds the cisterns from 
which the inhabitants derive their supply of fresh water. 
The wall has four gates, and I cannot describe to you 
the complete scene of desolation which presented itself 
on entering the enclosure by that gate, which is nearest 
to the modern town, the u sea-gate ;" indeed, it can 
scarcely be conceived : for mounds of rubbish and 



24 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

drifted sand occupy nearly the whole site of the ancient 
city. Within the area surrounded by the present wall, 
besides some monuments of the ancient city, are two 
convents and a synagogue, several groups of houses and 
huts, with a few walled gardens containing chiefly palm- 
trees. 

You will think it strange when I tell you that there 
are also two lofty hills of rubbish, each of which is sur- 
mounted by a fort, commanding an extensive view. It 
appears to me most extraordinary that any persons 
should choose such a foundation ; but I understand it is 
far from remarkable, and that these accidental eminences 
are improved to advantage in this flat country, the face 
of which in a course of years has undergone important 
changes, from the habit of the people of leaving crum- 
bling ruins to accumulate. Here the line of the principal 
street can be traced, extending in a straight direction 
from the shore of the old harbour to the Gate of Resheed,* 
which is at the eastern extremity of the enclosure ; and 
the direction of the other great street, which crossed the 
former at right angles, is observable. 

It must have been an extensive city, but it is impossible 
to mark its precise limits. Certainly its remains alone 
convey an idea of its having been a flourishing town, 
and considerably more important than the Arab city 
which succeeded it. 

Desiring to see the obelisks before the heat of the day, 
we set out early, and having passed the great square, we 
entered the field of ruins, and found a number of peasants 
loitering among miserable huts, while a few children, in 
a state of nudity, and extremely unsightly in form, were 
standing or sitting in the entrances of their dwellings. 
I was grieved to see that the bodies of these poor little 
children were distended to a most unnatural size ; while 

* Resheed is the name of the town which the English 
call Rosetta. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 25 

their limbs, which were very thin and small, appeared, 
from the contrast, to be sadly emaciated. 

Among the mounds we observed the mouths of some 
of the ancient cisterns ; each, with few exceptions, having 
the hollowed marble base of an ancient column placed 
over it. The cisterns seem to have extended under a 
great part of the ancient city ; and there remain a suffi- 
cient number of them open and in good repair for the 
supply of the modern town. They have arched or 
vaulted roofs, which are supported by columns or by 
square pillars, and some of them have two or three 
ranges of pillars and arches, one above another, and are 
very extensive. 

We saw little worthy of remark until we reached the 
obelisks, which are situated at an angle of the enclosure, 
almost close to the shore of the new harbour ; I mean 
those obelisks called Cleopatra's Needles. Each is com- 
posed of a single block of red granite, nearly seventy feet 
in length, and seven feet and a half wide at the base. 
And here I wondered, as so many have done before me, 
that the ancient Egyptians contrived to raise such solid 
masses, and concluded that their knowledge of machinery, 
of which they have left such extraordinary proofs, must 
have been remarkable indeed. 

Three lines of hieroglyphics adorn each of the four 
faces of either monument. My brother tells me that the 
central line bears the title and name of Thothmos the 
Third, who appears, from strong evidence, to have 
reigned shortly before the departure of the Israelites from 
Egypt : the lateral lines were sculptured at a later period ; 
for they bear the name of Rameses the Great, or Sesostris. 
The inscriptions near the base of the erect obelisk seemed 
nearly obliterated, and the prostrate one is so encumbered 
with rubbish, that much of it is concealed. Pliny relates 
that Rameses erected four obelisks at Heliopolis : those 
of Alexandria are perhaps two of the four thus alluded 
to. Their antiquity being so much greater than that of 
3 



26 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

Alexandria, suggests the probability of their having been 
taken from Heliopolis to adorn a temple or palace in the 
new city. The fact of the name of Rameses the Great 
being sculptured on them may have given rise to the 
tradition that they w T ere erected by that king. An 
adjacent fort occupies the site of an old tower which 
belonged to the former wall (that is, to the old wall of 
the Arab city), and which was called by European tra- 
vellers " the Tower of the Romans ;" as it was apparently 
of Roman origin. Near this, standing on a mound of 
rubbish, we saw the shore of the new harbour, behind the 
wall on the left of the fort. 

When the British army was in Alexandria in 1801, 
operations were commenced for transporting the fallen 
obelisk to England; but the commander-in-chief refusing 
to sanction the undertaking, it was abandoned, and 
nothing is said of its being resumed, although Mohammed 
'Alee offered the monument to us some years ago. 

After viewing the obelisks, we thankfully turned home- 
wards, for the sun had risen, and the heat became intense. 

Not far from the eastern gate (perhaps two miles and 
a half) is the field of the memorable battle of the 21st of 
March, 1801, in which Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who 
commanded our victorious army, received his mortal 
w r ound. At the spot where the battle raged most furi- 
ously, by the sea-shore, is a quadrangular enclosure, 
surrounded by substantial, but now ruined walls, con- 
structed of calcareous stone and large bricks, in distinct 
layers, like many other Roman buildings. The ruin is 
called Kasr-el-Kayasireh (or the Pavilion, or Palace, of 
the Caesars). It marks the site of a small town, which 
received the name of Nicopolis, in commemoration of a 
famous victory obtained there by Octavius Caesar over 
Antony. 

The pillar called Pompey's is undoubtedly a magnifi- 
cent monument. The shaft of the column is a single 
block of red granite, sixty-eight feet in height, and nine 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN" IX EGYPT. 27 

feet in diameter at the bottom, according- to my brother's 
measurement. The capital is a block of the same kind 
of stone, and is ten feet high. The base, plinth, and 
pedestal are likewise of red granite, and each is a single 
block. The combined length of these three pieces is 
seventeen feet. The total height of this superb monu- 
ment is therefore ninety-five feet ; and the substructure, 
which is partly modern, is four feet in height. The shaft 
is beautifully wrought, but sadly disfigured by numerous 
names inscribed in very large characters, with black 
paint. They have mostly been written by persons who 
have ascended to the summit. This they have contrived 
by flying a large paper kite, and causing it to descend so 
that the cord rested on the top of the capital ; by these 
means, they succeeded in drawing a stout rope over it ; 
and having accomplished this (to use the naval term) 
they easily " rigged shrouds," by which to ascend. This 
exploit has been performed several times, generally by 
naval officers, who have caused the name of their ship to 
be painted on the shaft. 

Among the adventurers, an English lady once ascended 
to the summit. There is a Greek inscription on the pe- 
destal, but it can only be faintly seen when the rays of 
the sun fall obliquely upon the surface of the stone. 
Every traveller who examined the Pillar since the time 
of Pococke believed the inscription to be entirely oblite- 
rated, until Colonel Squire again discovered it. That gen- 
tleman with Mr. Hamilton and Colonel Leake deciphered 
(with the exception of a few characters) the lines, four 
in number, which record the dedication, by a u Prefect of 
Egypt" (whose name is almost illegible), to the " most 
revered Emperor, the protecting divinity of Alexandria, 
Diocletian the Invincible." The name of the "Prefect" 
also has since been deciphered by Sir Gardner Wilkin- 
son — it is Publius. This inscription certainly proves 
that the column, or the building in which it stood, was 
dedicated to the Roman emperor whose name is thus 



28 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGVPT. 

recorded, but not that the column was erected in honour 
of that individual, any more than the lateral lines on the 
obelisks which I have described prove that they were 
erected in the reign of Sesostris. 

I may here briefly give you the tradition respecting 
the burning of the Alexandrian library (deriving my in- 
formation from my brother), which took place in the 
time of 'Omar, as it is connected with the history of the 
great pillar. 'Abd-el-Lateef and El-Makreezee affirm, 
that this pillar originally belonged to a magnificent build- 
ing, containing a library, which 'Amr, the Arab general, 
burned by the command of 'Omar. A particular account 
of the burning of this library is given by Abu-1-Faraj ; 
but the statement of that author has been disbelieved, 
because the story is related by few other writers ; yet 
why should they record what they considered an event 
of scarcely any importance ? It is evident from the 
slight manner in which 'Abd-el-Lateef and El-Makreezee 
mention the fact, that they regarded it as a very unim- 
portant occurrence. They allude to it merely as con- 
nected with the history of the great Pillar. The former 
says, " Here was the library which 'Amr Ibn-el-'A's 
burned by permission of 'Omar." El-Makreezee says, 
" The Pillar is of a red speckled stone ; hard and flinty. 
There were around it about four hundred columns which 
Karaja, Governor of Alexandria in the time of the Sultan 
Salah-ed-Deen Yoosuf Ibn-Eiyoob (called by Europeans 
" Saladin"), broke, and threw them into the sea, near the 
shore, to prevent the vessels of an enemy from approach- 
ing the walls of the city. It is said (he adds) that this 
pillar is one of those which stood in the portico of Aris- 
totle, who there taught philosophy; and that this academy 
contained a library, which 'Amr Ibn-el-'A's burned by 
direction of 'Omar." The Arab General 'Amr, having 
taken Alexandria, was solicited by one Johannes, sur- 
named "the Grammarian," to spare the library above 
mentioned, and to suffer it to remain in the possession of 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 29 

its former owners. 'Amr, willing- to oblige the philoso- 
pher, wrote to his sovereign, desiring to know his plea- 
sure respecting these books, and received the following 
answer: — "As to the books which you have mentioned, 
if they contain what is agreeable with the book of God, 
in the book of God is sufficient without them ; and if 
they contain what is contrary to the book of God, there 
is no need of them ; so give orders for their destruction." 
They were accordingly distributed about the city, to be 
used for heating the baths, and in the space of six 
months they were consumed. " Hear what happened, 1 ' 
writes Abu-1-Faraj, " and wonder !" The author here 
quoted does certainly speak of this event as one of lamen- 
table importance ; but he was a Christian writer. The 
Muslims, though they love and encourage many branches 
of literature, generally imagine that the books of the 
Christians are useless, or of an evil tendency. 

I must now leave Alexandria and its environs, saying 
a few words ^respecting the ancient Necropolis, or " City 
of the Dead," which I have not seen, being satisfied with 
my brother's account of it, and being anxious to proceed 
to Cairo. 

The name of Necropolis has been given to a tract of 
nearly two miles in length, on the southwest of the site 
of the ancient city, between the old harbour and the bed 
of the Lake Mareotis. The sepulchres are all excavated 
in the rock, which is calcareous, or rather soft. Those my 
brother saw were small and rudely cut, without painting 
or any other decorations. One of the catacombs is very 
spacious. It is the only one that is well worthy of being 
examined. The principal chamber is described as being 
of a circular form ; and the roof is excavated like the 
interior of a dome. Around it are three recesses, which 
were doubtless receptacles for mummies ; and around 
each of these are three troughs cut in the rock, designed 
to serve as sarcophagi. In other chambers are similar 
receptacles for the dead. The entrance of the principal, 
3* 



30 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

or circular, apartment being ornamented with pilasters 
and a pediment, it is evident that the period of the forma- 
tion of the catacomb was posterior to the founding of 
Alexandria. Along the shore of the harbour are many- 
other excavations, but of small dimensions, which are 
also sepulchres. Many of them, being partly below the 
level of the sea, are more or less filled with water ; the 
part of the rock which intervened having crumbled away, 
and left the interior exposed to the waves. Some of 
these have been called " the baths of Cleopatra," though 
evidently sepulchres like the rest. 

And now, if my account of Alexandria and its monu- 
ments has been too brief, I must plead as my apology, 
my anxiety to pursue our route ; but I must add, that 
although the modern Alexandria is the successor of one 
of the most illustrious cities of ancient times, it disap- 
points me, and occasions only melancho]y reflections. 

Truly history confers a deep interest on this spot, once 
the chief seat of Egyptian learning, the theatre of many 
wars and bloody tragedies, the scene of the martyrdom 
of St. Mark, the birth-place and residence of many of 
the most eminent fathers of the church, and the hot-bed 
of schisms and heresies. But it is only in retrospect we 
find that on which our minds can rest, and which can 
give rise to reflections which ma) 7 be pursued to advan- 
tage. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 31 



LETTER III. 

Cairo, July, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

To-day we have arrived with thankful hearts at Cairo, 
our voyages by sea and by river completed for a time. 

On leaving Alexandria, we engaged an iron track-boat, 
used chiefly for the conveyance of travellers on their way 
to India from Alexandria, by the canal called the Mahmoo- 
deeyeh, to the Nile. The boat was very large, containing 
two large cabins, the foremost of which was furnished 
with benches and tables, and apparently clean ; and being 
drawn by four horses, passed so rapidly along, that we 
enjoyed, from the current of air, a feeling of freshness, 
which led us at nightfall into a grievous mistake ; for we 
laid down, and expected rest without arranging our mus- 
quito-curtains. Those who had fitted up the boat had 
covered the wide benches with carpet. Imagine such a 
couch in such a latitude ! we were positively covered by 
fleas, and swarmed by black beetles, and the latter of 
such a growth as are never seen in England. Too late 
we repented of our error, and I should strongly recom- 
mend any person travelling in Egypt to sleep under mus- 
quito-curtains winter and summer. There is certainly a 
consciousness of heat and want of air, for perhaps a 
quarter of an hour after the curtain is closely tucked in, 
but what is that compared to the constant attacks of 
vermin of an extraordinary variety, to which the traveller 
in the East is subject ? Our first night in the track-boat, 
without musquito-curtains, will not be easily forgotten.* 

* Since I wrote the above, the Peninsular and Oriental 
Steam Navigation Company have, I believe, undertaken 






32 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

On the following morning we arrived at the point 
where the canal enters the Nile, and found that the boat 
which we expected would be ready for our voyage to 
Cairo, had conveyed a party towards the scene of a 
festival, and might not return for some days. Here our 
situation was one of severe suffering. We were stationed 
between two high ridges, composed of mud thrown up in 
forming the bed of the canal, very dry of course, and 
exceedingly dusty, and covered with mud huts. The 
intense heat, the clouds of dust, and the smell of this 
place, where we were hemmed in by boats and barges 
for two days and nights, without being able to improve 
our situation (because it was necessary in order to be 
ready for the Nile-boat to continue near the entrance of 
the canal), was infinitely worse than sea-sickness, or any 
thing else in the way of inconvenience we had hitherto 
experienced. Indeed the sea-sickness was welcome to 
me, for it confined me to my bed, and spared me the pain 
of seeing my own dear country, which holds so many 
and so much we love, fade from my sight. However long 
or however short may be the time proposed by any person 
for the purpose of visiting other countries, however plea- 
surable their expectations, however full of hope their 
prospects, there are regrets — there is a pang — on quitting 
England, which must be felt by the wayfarer, but can 
never be described, and is never fully anticipated. But I 
must not wander from my proper subject. Where the 
canal runs along the narrow neck of land between the 

the conveyance of travellers from Alexandria to Suez. 
Be this as it may, it is due to the Company to say, that 
our voyage from England to Egypt was rendered as plea- 
sant as a splendid vessel, excellent attendance, and every 
desirable accommodation could make it ; and the manner 
in which travellers are brought through Egypt, on their 
way to India, is now, I am told, as comfortable as any 
reasonable person could desire. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 33 

salt marsh of Mareotis and that of Aboo-Keer, the sides 
are formed by solid masses of stone, to prevent, in some 
degree the nitration of salt water into the Mahmoodeeyeh, 
as it supplies the cisterns of Alexandria. In scarcely 
any part does this canal occupy the bed of the ancient 
canal of Alexandria, which it crosses in several places. 
More than three hundred thousand men were employed 
to dig it ; and about twelve thousand of these are said to 
have died in the course of ten months ; many of them m 
consequence of ill-treatment, excessive labour, and the 
want of wholesome nourishment and good water. Their 
only implements in this work were the hoes which are 
commonly used in Egyptian agriculture ; and where the 
soil was moist they scraped it up with their hands, and 
then removed it in baskets. The whole length of the 
canal is nearly fifty British miles, and its breadth about 
eighty or ninety feet. It w r as commenced and completed 
in the year 1819. The name of Mahmoodeeyeh was 
given to it in honour of Mahmoud, the reigning sultan. 

In two days our promised boat arrived, and we joyfully 
left the Mahmoodeeyeh, and its gloomy prospect, where 
the peasants appeared to be suffering from abject poverty, 
and where the mud huts, rising one above another, many 
of them being built in a circular form, bore the appear- 
ance by moonlight of the ruined tow r ers of castles, with 
here and there a gleam of red light issuing from the 
apertures. 

The communication between the canal and the Nile 
was closed, therefore we walked for a few minutes along 
the bank, and we rejoiced on entering our boat to feel the 
sweetest breeze imaginable, and to look upon the green 
banks (especially on the Delta side) of one of the most 
famous rivers in the world. 

The boats of the Nile are admirably constructed for 
the navigation of that river. Their great triangular sails 
are managed with extraordinary facility, which is an ad- 



34 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

vantage of the utmost importance ; for the sudden and 
frequent gusts of wind to which they are subject, require 
that a sail should be taken in almost in a moment, or the 
vessel would most probably be overset. On many occa- 
sions one side of our boat was completely under water, 
but the men are so skilful that an accident seldom hap- 
pens, unless travellers pursue the voyage during the 
night. 

We ordered that our boat should not proceed at night, 
therefore we were three days on the Nile. 

A custom which is always observed by the Arab boat- 
men at the commencement of a voyage much pleased 
me. As soon as the wind had filled our large sail, the 
Reyyis (or captain of the boat) exclaimed " El-Fa t-'hah." 
This is the title of the opening chapter of the Kur-'an (a 
short and simple prayer), which the Reyyis and all the 
crew repeated together in a low tone of voice. Would to 
Heaven that, in this respect, the example of the poor 
Muslim might be followed by our countrymen, that our 
entire dependence on the protecting providence of God 
might be universally acknowledged, and every journey, 
and every voyage, be sanctified by prayer. 

On the first day we passed the town of Fooweh, where 
I could distinguish eleven mosques with their picturesque 
domes and minarets, and a few manufactories ; the dwell- 
ings are miserable, but when viewed from a little distance 
the whole has a pleasing appearance, for the minarets 
are whitewashed, and the houses, for a town in Egypt, 
have been good. Numbers of women and girls belonging 
to this town were filling their pitchers on the bank as we 
passed ; while others were washing clothes ; which done, 
each proceeded to wash her hands, face, and feet, and im- 
mediately returned with her pitcher or bundle on her 
head. A piece of rag rolled in the form of a ring, and 
placed upon the head, served to secure the pitcher in its 
erect position ; and I constantly saw, during our stay on 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 35 

the Mahmoodeeyeh, large and heavy pitchers carried by 
the women on their heads, without a hand upraised to 
keep them steady. 

Fooweh, like Matoobis, is celebrated for the beauty of 
its women ; but as our boat kept in the middle of the 
stream, I had no opportunity of pronouncing on their 
personal attractions. The lower orders are mostly, I 
think, remarkably plain. Their usual dress (and indeed 
frequently, their only article of clothing, except the head 
veil) is a plain blue shirt, differing little from that of the 
men, which is also commonly blue. It is a general cus- 
tom of the Egyptian women of this class to tattoo some 
parts of their persons, particularly the front of the chin 
and the lips, with blue marks ; and like the women of 
the higher classes, many of them tinge their nails with 
the dull red dye of the henna, and arrange their hair in a 
number of small plaits which hang down the back. 

I must not omit telling you that FoOweh is also fa- 
mous for its pomegranates, which are both plentiful and 
excellent in flavour. 

We reached the village of Shubra Kheet shortly after 
sunset, and as our boatmen recommended that our boat 
should be made fast under this place, we remained there 
until the morning. It was then curious to see the va- 
rious occupations of the peasants, and to observe the las- 
situde with which they labour. During our voyage 
several poor fellows floated towards the boat, sitting as it 
were upright on the water, paddling with their feet, and 
bearing each three water-melons, one in each hand, and 
one on their heads. Their manner of swimming is ex- 
traordinary — they seem perfectly at their ease. 

On the second day we passed renowned Sais, and after- 
wards had a glimpse of the great desert, and its almost 
immeasurable sea of sand. Sais was the ancient capital 
of the Delta, one of the most celebrated cities of Egypt, 
and the reputed birth-place of Cecrops, who, it is said, 
led a colony of Saites to Attica, about 1556 years before 



36 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

the Christian era, founded Athens, and established there 
the worship of Minerva (the Egyptian Neith), the tutelar 
goddess of his native city. This place is so choked up 
with rubbish that its ruins are scarcely worth visiting ; 
but the labour of excavation would probably be rewarded 
by interesting discoveries. The modern name of the 
place is " Sa-el-Hagar," that is, " Sais of the Stone," pro- 
bably allusive to the great monolithic chapel described 
by Herodotus as the most remarkable of the monuments 
here existing in his time. The remains of Sais, viewed 
from the river, appear merely like lofty and extensive 
mounds. They chiefly consist of a vast enclosure, about 
half a mile in length, and nearly the same in breadth. 
This is formed by walls of prodigious dimensions, being 
about fifty feet thick, and, in several parts, considerably 
more than that in height, constructed of large crude 
bricks, fifteen or sixteen inches in length, eight in 
breadth, and seven in thickness. The rains, though very 
rare even in this part of Egypt, have so much decayed 
these walls, that from a little distance they are hardly to 
be distinguished from the rubbish in which they are 
partly buried. Within the enclosure are only seen some 
enormous blocks of stone, and the remains of some 
buildings of unburnt brick, which appear to have been 
tombs, and several catacombs, which have been explored 
and ransacked. The enclosure contained the famous 
temple of the Egyptian Minerva, described by Hero- 
dotus, the portico of which surpassed in its colossal di- 
mensions all other works of a similar nature, and was 
adorned with gigantic figures and enormous andro- 
sphinxes. Before it was the famous monolithic chapel I 
have mentioned, which was twenty-one cubits long, four- 
teen wide, and eight high. It is related by Herodotus 
that two thousand boatmen were employed during the 
space of three years in transporting this monolith down 
the Nile from Elephantine. There was also, before the 
temple, a colossus, in a reclining posture (or, more pro- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 37 

bably, a sitting posture), seventy-five feet in length, simi- 
lar to that before the temple of Vulcan at Memphis, 
which latter colossus was the gift of Amasis. Behind 
the temple was a sepulchre, but for whom it was destined 
the historian declines mentioning. Lofty obelisks were 
likewise raised within the sacred enclosure, near a cir- 
cular lake, which was lined with stone. This lake 
served as a kind of theatre for nocturnal exhibitions of 
solemn mysteries relating to the history of the unnamed 
person above alluded to, who w T as, probably, Osiris ; for, 
from feelings of religious awe, many of the Egyptians ab- 
stained from mentioning the name of that god. Many 
other towns in Egypt disputed the honour of being regarded 
as the burial-place of Osiris. All the Pharaohs born in 
the Saitic district were buried within the enclosure which 
surrounded the sacred edifices of Sais ; and one of those 
kings, Apries, founded here a magnificent palace. Oi' 
the grand religious festivals which were periodically 
celebrated in Egypt in ancient times, the third, in point 
of magnificence, was that of Sais, in honour of Neith ; the 
most splendid being that of Bubastis, and the next, that 
of Busiris, both in Lower Egypt. That of Sais was called 
" the festival of burning lamps," because, on the occa- 
sion of its celebration, the houses in that city, and 
throughout all Egypt, were illuminated by lamps hung 
around them. 

I mentioned that the boat we had been promised at 
the Mahmoodeeyeh had conveyed a party towards the 
scene of a festival ; and you may be surprised to hear 
that the manners of the modern Egyptians are not 
wholly different from those of the ancient Alexandrians, 
who flocked to the licentious festivals celebrated at Cano- 
pus in honour of the god Serapis. Innumerable boats 
covered the canal by night as well as by day, conveying 
pilgrims of both sexes, dancing, singing, and drinking, 
and availing themselves in every way of the religious 
licence afforded them. So, in the present day, vast 
4 



38 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

numbers of the male inhabitants of the metropolis of 
Egypt, and persons from other parts, with numerous 
courtesans, repair to the festivals celebrated in com- 
memoration of the birth of the seyyid* Ahmad El- 
Bedawee (a celebrated Muslim saint), at Tanta, in the 
Delta, where swarms of dancing-girls and singers contri- 
bute to their amusement, and where, I am told, brandy 
is drunk almost as freely as coffee. 

We passed, to-day, by the village of Kafr-ez-Zeiyat, 
which exhibited a busy scene : numerous visiters of the 
seyyid landing there, on their way to Tanta, and others 
embarking to return to their homes. 

We arrived late at the village of Nadir, under which 
we remained for the night. In the morning we found 
ourselves surrounded by fine buffaloes standing in the 
water. Their milk is chiefly used, and the butter made 
from it is very white and sweet. We often saw numbers 
of these animals standing or lying in the water, for the 
Nile is in many parts extremely shallow, and abounds 
with moving sandbanks. Hence the boats frequently run 
aground, but they are generally pushed off without much 
difficulty by means of poles, or the crew descend into 
the water and shove the vessel off with their backs and 
shoulders. In a calm, the boat is towed by the crew; 
and in several cases during our voyage, the whole boat's 
crew, consisting of ten men, w r ere thus drawing it, while 
no one remained with us but the Reyyis. It was asto- 
nishing to see how well they performed this laborious 
task, in the heat of July ; very seldom stopping to take 
rest, and then only for a short time. The boatmen gene- 
rally sing while the vessel is under sail, and they often 
accompany their songs with the rude music of the 
darebukkeh and zummarah, which are a funnel-shaped 
earthen drum and a double reed-pipe. There is some- 

* Seyyid is a title given to the descendants of the 
Prophet. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 39 

thing very agreeable in the songs of the boatmen, although 
the airs they sing are most strange. There is so much of 
contentment in the tones of their voices that it does one 
good to hear them. 

The most common kind of passage-boat, or pleasure- 
boat, is called a kangeh, also pronounced kanjeh. It is 
long and narrow, and does not draw much water. It has 
two masts, with two large triangular sails, and a low 
cabin, which is generally divided into two or more apart- 
ments, having small square windows, which are fur- 
nished with blinds, or glasses, and sliding shutters in the 
inside. In our boat we were exceedingly worried by 
beetles, bugs, and fleas ; and these seriously annoyed me 
on account of my poor children, whose rest was sadly 
disturbed, and their very patience and cheerfulness in- 
creased our sympathy. Indeed, these young wayfarers 
made us cast many a longing wish for their sakes to- 
wards the comforts of a home. 

During the nights our musquito curtains diminished 
but did not remove the inconvenience ; but they are in- 
valuable, as they prevent all attacks from large reptiles, 
although bugs and fleas are proof against all precaution. 

The boats belonging to the Turkish grandees are very 
gay : bunches of flowers are commonly painted on the 
panels of the cabin, both within and without; and the 
blood-red flag, with its white crescent and star or stars, 
waves at the stern. Other boats are more simple in their 
decorations, and all extremely picturesque. 

On this day of our voyage, we passed little worthy of 
remark, excepting, indeed, the groups of noble and grace- 
ful palm-trees, which form a characteristic and beautiful 
feature in every Egyptian landscape. The villages pre- 
sented a curious effect, from almost every hut being 
crowned with a conical pigeon-house, constructed of 
earthen pots. With these cones, frequently as large as 
the huts themselves, almost every village hereabouts 
abounds. 



40 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYrT. 

We observed many carcasses of cattle floating" upon 
the water, or lying by the banks of the river, for Egypt 
is at present visited by a severe murrain.* 

During our voyage we saw several instances of mirage 
(called by the Arabs serab) ; but the apparent clearness 
of the mock water destroyed the illusion ; for the Nile, 
generally turbid, was then particularly so; and it was 
impossible to strain the imagination so far as to conceive 
that a clear lake should exist near the banks of the river. 
Yet it was an interesting and curious phenomenon, and 
indeed rendered painfully interesting by the knowledge 
that many a perishing wanderer in the desert had bit- 
terly tasted the disappointment its mimicry occasions. 

I can say little of the beauty of the banks of the Nile. 
They are in many places sufficiently high to obstruct the 
view, and broken and perpendicular. The Delta side 
certainly often presented to the eye a sloping bank of 
refreshing green, but with scarcely any diversity. I am 
not disposed to underrate the prospect; but you have 
doubtless heard that the borders of the Nile are seen in 
all their beauty about a month after the decrease of the 
river, which has left its fertilizing soil for a considerable 
space on either side, when its banks seem covered with a 
carpet of the brightest emerald green, and its little islands 
are crowned with the most brilliant verdure. 

Our voyage was made during its increase ; and when, 
on the third night, our boat was made fast to a sandy 
island, no village being in the neighbourhood under 
which the Reyyis thought we could safely pass the night, 
we all congratulated ourselves and each other that our 
boating was nearly at an end. 

Early on the following morning we descried the vene- 
rable Pyramids, but the undulations of the heated atmos- 
phere on the surface of the intermediate plain prevented 

* This murrain lasted more than three months, and 
reminded us of that in the time of Moses. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 41 

their being distinctly visible. They were three leagues 
distant. 

We shortly after arrived at Boulak, the principal port 
of Cairo, and with our arrival came the necessity that I 
and my sister-in-law should equip ourselves in Eastern 
costume. There was no small difficulty in this cere- 
mony, and when completed, it was stifling to a degree 
not to be forgotten. Imagine the face covered closely by 
a muslin veil, double at the upper part, the eyes only un- 
covered, and over a dress of coloured silk an overwhelm- 
ing covering of black silk, extending, in my idea, in 
every direction ; so that, having nothing free but my 
eyes, I looked with dismay at the high bank I must 
climb, and the donkey I must mount, which was waiting 
for me at the summit. Nothing can be more awkward 
and uncomfortable than this riding dress ; and if I had 
any chance of attaining my object without assuming it, 
I should never adopt it ; but in English costume I should 
not gain admittance into many hareems : besides, the 
knowledge that a Muslim believes a curse to rest on the 
" seer and the seen," makes one anxious not to expose 
passers-by to what they would deem a misfortune, or 
ourselves to their malediction. 

My brother, in his " Modern Egyptians," has repre- 
sented the manner in which the habarah is worn by the 
native ladies of Egypt. The Turkish ladies close it in 
front, esteeming it improper to show the colour of the 
sebleh or tob beneath. 

The house dress is well suited to the climate and 
extremely picturesque, but the walking dress is gro- 
tesque and curious. 

With a short account of our ride of nearly two miles 
from Boulak to Cairo, I shall conclude. 

All mounted, and preceded by a janissary, we looked 
in wonder, as we rode through Boulak, at the dilapidated 
state of this suburb. There are, indeed, good houses 
4* 



42 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT, 

there, I am assured, but we had not the good fortune to 
see them, and we emerged gladly from its narrow streets 
to an open space, where soon, however, the dust (which 
rose in clouds from the tread of our easy-paced donkeys) 
so annoyed us, that for the first time I felt it desirable 
that nothing but the eyes should be uncovered. At length 
we fairly entered Cairo, and my astonishment increased 
tenfold. 

I wrote to you that the streets of Alexandria are nar- 
row ; they are wide when compared with those of Cairo. 
The meshreebeeyehs, or projecting windows, facing each 
other, above the ground-floors, literally touch in some 
instances ; and in ?nany, the opposite windows are within 
reach. 

The first impression received on entering this cele- 
brated city, is, that it has the appearance of having been 
deserted for perhaps a century, and suddenly repeopled 
by persons who had been unable, from poverty or some 
other cause, to repair it, and clear away its antiquated 
cobwebs. I never saw such cobwebs as hung in many 
apertures, in gloomy dark festoons, leading me to consi- 
der the unmolested condition of their tenants. I wish 
I could say that I do not fear these creatures ; but surely 
in the insect world there is nothing so savage-looking as 
a black thick-legged spider. 

After passing through several of the streets, into which 
it appeared as though the dwellings had turned out nearly 
all their inhabitants, we arrived at an agreeable house 
situated in the midst of gardens, in which we are to take 
up our temporary abode. Graceful palm-trees, loaded 
with their fruit, meet our eyes in every direction, while 
acacias, bananas, orange and lemon trees, pomegranate 
trees, and vines, form a splendid variety, and but for one 
essential drawback, the coup d'oeil would be charming. 
This drawback is the want of refreshing showers. The 
foliage on which we look is perfectly covered with dust, 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 43 

and the soil of the gardens is watered by a wheel worked 
by a patient bullock, who pursues his round-about with 
little intermission, and thrives in his persevering labour. 
The plan of the gardens is very curious; they are divided 
by long parallel walks, with gutters on either side, and 
subdivided into little square compartments, each about 
two yards wide, by ridges of earth about half a foot high, 
and the water is admitted into these squares, one after 
another. When I looked upon the little ditches and 
squares of water, remaining for some time without absorp- 
tion, I could not but remember our bright pretty gardens 
in England, and how carefully in watering our flowers we 
avoided saturating the mould, both because it would be in- 
jurious to them, and displeasing to the eye — and these recol- 
lections almost brought me to the conclusion that a garden 
in Egypt is not worth the trouble of cultivation — so much 
for national prejudice and love of home scenes. Adieu ! 



LETTER IV. 

Cairo, August, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

Although prepared by the motley groups at Malta, and 
the changing scene and variety of costume at Alexandria, 
for much that is more astonishing to the European in 
Cairo, I find the peculiarities of this place and people are 
beyond my most extravagant expectations. The Shubra 
road passes very near our windows, and I am constantly 
attracted by the various processions which wind their 
way to and from this city. 

The wedding processions, in which the poor bride 
walks under a canopy of silk, not only veiled, but enve- 
loped in a large shawl, between two other females, amuse 



44 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

me much ; while the tribe before the " destined one," 
occasionally demonstrate their joy by executing- many 
possible, and, to our ideas, many impossible feats, and the 
rear is brought up by the contributions of children from 
many of the houses en route, The bride must, indeed, be 
nearly suffocated long before she reaches her destination, 
for she has to walk, frequently almost fainting, under a 
midday sun, sometimes a long distance, while a few mu- 
sicians make what is considered melody with drums and 
shrill hautboys, and attending females scream their zag- 
hareet (or quavering cries of joy), in deafening discord 
in her train. 

The funeral processions distress me. The corpse of a 
man is carried in an open bier, with merely a shawl 
thrown over the body, through which the form is pain- 
fully visible. The body of a woman is carried in a co- 
vered bier, over which a shawl is laid ; and an upright 
piece of wood, covered also with a shawl, and decorated 
with ornaments belonging to the female head-dress, rises 
from the forepart, The corpses of children are borne on 
this latter kind of bier. 

One sound that I heard as a funeral procession ap- 
proached, I can never forget ; it was a cry of such deep 
sorrow — a sob of such heartfelt distress, that it was clearly 
distinguished from the wail of the hired women who 
joined the funeral chorus. We were immediately drawn 
to the windows, and saw a man leading a procession of 
women, and bearing in his arms a little dead infant, wrapt 
merely in a shawl, and travelling to its last earthly home. 
The cry of agony proceeded, I conclude, from its mother, 
and could only be wrung from a nearly bursting heart. 
Contend against me who may, I must ever maintain my 
opinion, that no love is so deep, no attachment so strong, 
as that of mother to child, and of child to mother. 

The funerals that pass are very numerous ; but other 
spectacles that I see from my windows afford various a.nd 
endless entertainment, and make me long to look into the 



THE ENGLISH WOMAN IN EGYPT. 45 

houses of this most curious city, as well as into the 
streets and roads. After much consideration, however, 
I have determined to defer my intended visits to the ha- 
reems of the great, until I shall have acquired some little 
knowledge of Arabic ; for, although Turkish is the lan- 
guage usually spoken in those hareems, Arabic is gene- 
rally understood by the inmates ; and as the latter is the 
common language of Egypt, some knowledge of it is in- 
dispensable to me. 

But our first object has been to find a comfortable 
dwelling ; and notwithstanding the kind assistance of 
numerous friends, my brother has experienced great diffi- 
culty in attaining this object. The friendly attention 
that has been shown to us all is most highly gratifying ; 
and I have already had some experience of the manners 
and usages of the hareem ; two Syrian ladies having de- 
voted themselves in the most amiable manner to render 
us every possible service. 

After having searched for a house here during a month 
in vain, we were delighted by the offer of an exceedingly 
good one, which appeared in almost every respect eligible, 
and in which we are now residing. But our domestic 
comfort in this new abode has been disturbed by a singu- 
lar trouble, which has obliged us to arrange as soon as 
possible for a removal. The house is an admirable one, 
being nearly new, though on the old construction ; there- 
fore I shall endeavour to give you an idea of the better 
houses of Cairo by describing this ; and some knowledge 
of the plan of its interior will enable you more fully to 
understand the annoyance to which we are subjected. 

On the ground-floor is a court, open to the sky, round 
which the apartments extend, gallery above gallery. 
Round the court are five rooms ; one large room (a man- 
darah) intended for the reception of male guests, with a 
fountain in the centre ; a winter room ; a small sleeping- 
room, for any male guest; a kitchen, and a coffee-room, 
for servants. On the right hand, immediately on enter- 



46 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

ing the street-door, is the door of the hareem, or the en- 
trance to the stairs leading to the ladies' apartments ; the 
whole of the house, excepting the apartments of the 
ground-floor, being considered as the " hareem." On the 
first floor is a marble-paved chamber, with a roof open 
towards the north, and sloping upwards, conveying into 
the chamber generally a delightful breeze, There are 
also five other rooms on the first floor ; and in each of the 
two principal apartments, the greater portion of the floor, 
forming about three-fourths, is raised from five to six 
inches, the depressed portion being paved with marble. 
The reason for thus laying the floors is, that the outer 
slippers are left on the depressed portion, and the raised 
part, which is matted, is not to be defiled with any thing 
which is unclean. The feet are covered, in addition to 
the stockings, with a kind of inner slippers, the soles of 
which, as well as the upper leathers, are of yellow mo- 
rocco : they are called mezz ; and the outer slippers, which 
are without heels, are styled baboog. The latter, by the 
way, I am often losing, and I fear I shall continue to do 
so, for I despair of learning to shuffle, like the ladies of 
the country. When wearing the riding or walking dress, 
the mezz are exchanged for a pair of high morocco socks, 
and the baboog are worn as usual. They are always 
pale yellow. The walls throughout are whitewashed, and 
the ceilings composed of fancifully carved woodwork, in 
some instances extremely tastefully arranged. Besides 
the rooms I have mentioned, there are three small marble- 
paved apartments, forming, en suite, an antechamber, a 
reclining chamber, and a bath. We little thought, when 
we congratulated ourselves on this luxury, that it would 
become the most abominable part of the house. Above 
are four rooms, the principal one opening to a delightful 
terrace, which is considerably above most of the surround- 
ing houses ; and on this we enjoy our breakfast and sup- 
per under the clearest sky ill the world ; but we always 
remember that the sweet air which comforts us in the 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN' IN EGYPT. 47 

mornings and evenings of our sultry days, blows from the 
direction of our own dear country ; and the thought ren- 
ders it the more welcome. 

We were much surprised, after passing a few days 
here, to find that our servants were unable to procure any 
rest during the night; being disturbed by a constant 
knocking, and by the appearances of what they believed 
to be an 'Efreet, that is, " an evil spirit," but the term 
'Efreet is often used to signify " a ghost." The manner 
of the servants' complaint of the latter was very charac- 
teristic. Having been much annoyed one morning by a 
noisy quarrel under our windows, my brother called one 
of our servants to ascertain how it had arisen, when he 
replied, " It is a matter of no importance, O Efendee, but 
the subject which perplexes us is that there is a devil in 
the bath." My brother being aware of their supersti- 
tious prejudices, replied, "Well, is there a bath in the 
world that you do not believe to be a resort of evil spirits, 
according to the well-known tradition on that subject?" 
"True, O my master," rejoined the man, "the case is so; 
this devil has long been the resident of the house, and he 
will never permit any other tenant to retain its quiet pos- 
session ; for a long time no one has remained more than 
a month within these walls, excepting the last person 
who lived here, and he, though he had soldiers and slaves, 
could not stay longer than about nine months ; for the 
devil disturbed his family all night." I must here tell 
you that during our short stay in the house, two maids 
had left us, one after another, without giving us any 
idea of their intentions, and had never returned, and the 
cause of their sudden disappearance was now explained 
by the men, their fellow-servants. Certainly our own 
rest had been grievously disturbed ; but we had attributed 
all the annoyance to a neighbour's extraordinary demon 
strati ons of joy on the subject of his own marriage, and 
whose festivities were perhaps the more extravagant be- 
cause he is an old man, and his bride a young girl : but 



48 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

as I hope to give you a particular account, on a future 
occasion of the manner in which the people of this coun- 
try celebrate a marriage, suffice it to say at present, the 
noise was deafening during the whole of eight nights, 
and that, when we were becoming accustomed to the 
constant din, we were roused by three tremendous reports 
of fire-arms, which rung through the apartments of our 
own and the neighbouring houses, and shook our dwelling' 
to the very foundation. It is therefore not remarkable 
that we did not hear the noises which disturbed our poor 
servants, in addition to the sufficient uproar without. 

It appeared, on inquiry, that the man to whom this 
house formerly belonged, and who is now dead, had 
during his residence in it, murdered a poor tradesman 
who entered the court with his merchandise, and two 
slaves : one of these (a black girl) was destroyed in the 
bath, and you will easily understand how far such a story 
as this, and a true one too, sheds its influence on the 
minds of a people who are superstitious to a proverb. 
We can .only regret that my brother engaged the house 
in ignorance of these circumstances ; had he known 
them, he would also have been aware that the prejudice 
among the lower orders would be insurmountable, and 
that no female servant would remain with us. The sud- 
den disappearance of our maids was thus quaintly ex- 
plained by our doorkeeper. "Why did A'mineh and Zey- 
neb leave you ?" " Verily, O my master, because they 
feared for their security. When A'mineh saw the 
'Efreet she said at once, 1 1 must quit this house ; for if 
he touch me, I shall be deranged, and unfit for service ;' 
and truly," he added, "this would have been the case. 
For ourselves, as men, we fear not ; but we fear for the 
hareem. Surely you will consider their situation, and 
quit this house." This (he thought) was putting the 
matter in the strongest light. " Try a few nights lon- 
ger," my brother said, "and call me as soon as the 
'Efreet appears to-night; we might have caught him 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 49 

last night, when you say he was so near you, and after 
giving him a sound beating, you would not have found 
your rest disturbed." At this remark it was evident that 
the respect of both servants for their master had received 
a temporary shock. " O Efendee," exclaimed one of 
them, " this is an 'Efreet, and not a son of Adam, as you 
seem to suppose. He assumed last night all imaginary 
shapes, and when I raised my hand to seize him, he 
became a piece of cord, or any other trifle." Now these 
men are valuable servants, and we should be sorry to 
lose them, especially in our present predicament ; there- 
fore my brother merely answered, that if the annoyance 
did not cease, he would make inquiry respecting another 
house. But to obtain a house, excepting in the heart of 
the city, is no easy matter ; and on account of my chil- 
dren, we feel it to be indispensable for the preservation 
of their health that we should reside on the west side of 
the city, and close to the outskirts, where the air is pure 
and salubrious, and where Ibraheem Pasha has caused 
the mounds of rubbish to be removed, and succeeded by 
extensive plantations of olive, palm, cypress, acacia, and 
other trees. These plantations are open to the public, 
and form a charming place of resort for children. 

I have not mentioned to you that the inhuman wretch 
to whom this house belonged bequeathed it to a mosque, 
perhaps as an expiation for his crimes, but left it, for the 
term of her life, to the person who is our present land- 
lady ; and now a circumstance was explained to our 
minds which we had not before fully understood. On 
the day before we desired to remove here, we sent one of 
our servants to hire some women, and to superintend the 
clearing of the house ; and on his arrival there the land- 
lady (whose name is Lalah-Zar, or bed of tulips) refused 
him admission, saying, " Return to the Efendee, and say 
to him that I am baking cakes in the oven of his kitchen, 
that I may give them away to-morrow at the tomb of the 
late owner of the house, to the poor and needy. This is 
5 



50 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

a meritorious act for your master's sake, as well as for 
my own, and your master will understand it." 

Poor woman ! it is now evident to us that she hoped 
by this act of propitiation to prevent further annoyance 
to her tenants, and consequent loss to herself. 

The morning- after the conversation I have related took 
place, the servants' report was considerably improved. 
They had passed, they said, a comfortable night, and we 
hoped we might arrange to remain here, but the following 
day a most singular statement awaited us. The door- 
keeper, in a tone of considerable alarm, said that he 
had been unable to sleep at all; that the 'Efreet had 
walked round the gallery all night in clogs!* and had 
repeatedly knocked at his door with a brick, or some 
other hard substance. Then followed the question why 
one of the men had not called my brother, evidently be- 
cause neither of them dared pass the gallery round which 
the supposed 'Efreet was taking his midnight walk, strik- 
ing each door violently as he passed it. For many 
nights these noises continued, and many evenings they 
began before we retired to rest, and as we could never 
find the offender, I sadly feared for my children ; not for 
their personal safety, but lest they should incline to su- 
perstition, and nothing impoverishes the mind so much 
as such a tendency. 

Another singular circumstance attending this most 
provoking annoyance was our finding, on several succes- 
sive mornings, five or six pieces of charcoal laid at the 
door leading to the chambers in which we sleep ; convey- 
ing in this country a wish, or rather an imprecation, 
which is far from agreeable, viz. : " May your faces be 
blackened." However, under all these circumstances, I 
rejoiced to find my children increasingly amused by these 
pranks, and established in the belief that one or more 
wicked persons liked the house so well, that they resolved 

* Clogs are always worn in the bath. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 51 

to gain possession, and to eject by dint of sundry noises, 
and other annoyances, any persons who desire its occupa- 
tion. It is, however, a more serious matter to poor 
Lalah-Zar than to us; for it is very certain that the 
legacy of the late possessor will never prove a great 
benefit either to her or the mosque. You will be sur- 
prised when I tell you that the rent of such a house as 
this does not exceed 12Z. per annum. It is a very supe- 
rior house, and infinitely beyond the usual run of houses, 
therefore always styled by the people of the country, the 
house of an Emeer (a Nobleman). 

One thing we much regretted, that A'mineh (whom I 
mentioned early in this letter) had taken fright. She 
was the best of our maids ; and her gentle respectful 
manners, and the perfect propriety of her demeanour, 
made her a very desirable attendant. I am sorry to say 
we have met with no other, but those who have proved 
themselves in every respect inefficient. The men-servants 
are excellent, and become attached to their masters almost 
invariably, when treated as they deserve ; but as to the 
maids, I scarcely know how to describe them. I really 
do not think they hardly ever wash themselves, excepting 
when they go to the bath, which is once in about ten 
days or a fortnight. On these occasions a complete 
scouring takes place (I can find no other term for the 
operation of the bath), and their long hair is arranged in 
many small plaits : from that time until the next visit to 
the bath, their hair is never unplaited. I speak from 
having watched with dismay all we have had, excepting 
A'mineh, who was a jewel among them, and from the 
information of all our friends in this country. These 
maids are extremely deceitful, and when directed with 
regard to their work, will answer with the most abject 
submission, although really disheartened by the most 
ordinary occupation. They sleep in their clothes, after 
the manner of the country, and the habit of doing so, 
coupled with the neglect of proper washing, involving a 



52 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

want of that freshness produced by a complete change of 
clothes, is especially objectionable. Were they strict in 
their religious observances, their cleanliness would be 
secured, as frequent ablutions are ordered in their code 
of law ; but the lower orders of the women have seldom 
any religion at all. 

Believe me, you are fortunate in England, in this re- 
spect, as well as many others, and I hope you will prize 
our English maids, if you have not done so already. 



LETTER V. 

September, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

That you may be better prepared for future letters, you 
wish me to give you a general physical sketch of this 
most singular country, which is distinguished by its 
natural characteristics, as well as by its monuments of 
antiquity, from every other region of the globe. As my 
own experience will not enable me to do so, my brother 
has promised to furnish me with the necessary informa- 
tion. 

The country (as well as the metropolis) is called Masr, 
by its modern inhabitants. It is generally divided into 
Upper and Lower. Upper Egypt, or the Sa'eed, may be 
described as a long winding valley, containing a soil of 
amazing fertility, bounded throughout its whole length by 
mountainous and sandy wastes. 

Lower Egypt is an extensive plain, for the most part 
cultivated, and copiously supplied with moisture by the 
divided streams of the Nile, and by numerous canals. 
All the cultivable soil of Egypt owes its existence to the 
Nile, by which it is still annually augmented: for this 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 53 

river, when swollen by the summer rains which regularly 
drench the countries between the northern limits of the 
Sennar and the equinoctial line, is impregnated with rich 
earth washed down from the mountains of Abyssinia and 
the neighbouring regions; and in its course through 
Nubia and Egypt, where rain is a rare phenomenon, it 
deposits a copious sediment, both in the channel in 
which it constantly flows, and upon the tracts which 
it annually inundates. It is every where bordered by 
cultivated fields, excepting in a few places, where it is 
closely hemmed in by the mountains, or the drifted sand 
of the desert. The mud of the Nile, analyzed by Reg- 
nault, was found to consist of 11 parts in 100 of water; 
48 of alumine ; 18 of carbonate of lime ; 9 of carbon ; 6 
of oxide of iron ; 4 of silex ; and 4 of carbonate of mag- 
nesia. 

The Nile is called in Egypt "El-Bahr" (or "the 
river") ; for bahr signifies a u great river," as well as the 
sea. It is also called " Bahr en Neel" (or " the river 
Nile"), and "Neel Masr" (or "the Nile of Egypt"). 
The Arabs, generally believe the " Neel Masr" to be a 
continuation of the "Neel es-Soodan" (or "Nile of the 
Negroes"). 

Of the two great branches, called " El-Bahr el-Azrak" 
(or " the blue river"), and " El-Bahr el-Abyad" (or " the 
white river"), which, uniting, form the Nile of Nubia 
and Egypt, the former (though less long than the other) 
is that to which Egypt principally owes its fertility. Its 
chief characteristics (its colour, the banks between which 
it flows, &c.) are similar to those of the Nile of Egypt. 
Its dark colour, arising from its being impregnated with 
soil during the greater part of the year, has caused it to 
receive the name of "the blue river," while the other 
branch, from the opposite colour of its waters, is called 
" the white river." The latter is considerably wider than 
the former ; its banks are sloping lawns, richly wooded, 
5* 



54 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

and very unlike the steep and broken banks of the Nile 
of Egypt. 

At its entrance into the valley of Egypt, the Nile is 
obstructed by innumerable rocks of granite, which cause 
a succession of cataracts, or rather rapids. The moun- 
tains on the east of the river, as well the islands in it, are 
here of granite : those on the western side are of sand- 
stone. From this point, to the distance of thirty leagues 
southward, sandstone mountains of small altitude extend 
on each side of the river. The valley, so far, is very 
narrow, particularly throughout the upper half of the 
sandstone district ; and there is but very little cultivable 
land on the banks of the river in that part; in some 
places the mountains are close to the stream; and in 
others, only a narrow sandy strip intervenes. At the dis- 
tance of twelve leagues below the cataracts, the river is 
contracted to little more than half its usual width, by the 
mountains on each side. Here are extensive quarries, 
from which were taken the materials for the construction 
of many of the temples in the Thebais, This part is 
called "Gebel es-Silsileh," or "the Mountain of the 
Chain." Where the calcareous district begins, are two 
insulated hills (El-Gebelyn) on the west of the Nile ; one 
of them close to the river, and the other at a little dis- 
tance behind the former. The valley then becomes 
wider, ana more irregular in its direction ; and the Nile 
winds througn + he middle of the cultivable land, or nearly 
so. Afterwards the valley assumes a less serpentine form, 
and the river flows along the eastern side ; in many places 
washing the sides of the precipitous mountains. The 
calcareous district continues to the end of the valley, 
where the mountains on both sides diverge ; the Arabian 
chain running due east to Suez, and the western hills ex- 
tending in a northwest direction, towards the Mediterra- 
nean. Near the termination of the valley is an opening 
in the low western mountains, through which a canal 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 55 

conveys the waters of the Nile into the fertile province 
1 of El-Feiyoom. On the northwest of this province is a 
great lake, which receives the superfluous waters during 
the inundation. The length of the valley of Egypt, from 
the cataracts to the metropolis, is about 450 geographical 
miles. The distance by the river is above 500 miles 
from the cataracts to the metropolis, and about 400 miles 
from Thebes to the same point. The difference in lati- 
tude between the cataracts and the metropolis is six 
degrees, or 360 geographical miles ; and the distance 
from the latter point to the sea, in a straight line, is 
rather more than ninety miles. The width of the valley 
is in few parts more than eight or ten miles; and gene- 
rally less than that. The width of that part of Lower 
Egypt which constituted the ancient Delta, is about 120 
miles from east to west. 

The whole of the fertile country is very flat ; but the 
lands in the vicinity of the river are rather higher than 
those which are more remote. This has been supposed 
to result from a greater deposit of mud upon the former ; 
which, however, cannot be the case, for it is observed 
that the fields near the river are generally above the 
reach of the inundation, while those towards the moun- 
tains are abundantly overflowed ; but while the latter 
yield but one crop, the former are cultivated throughout 
the whole year ; and it is the constant cultivation and 
frequent watering (which is done by artificial means) 
that so considerably raise the soil ; not so much by the 
deposit of mud left by the water, as by the accumulation 
of stubble and manure. The cultivable soil throughout 
Egypt is free from stones, excepting in parts immedi- 
ately adjacent to the desert. It almost every where 
abounds with nitre. 

Between the cultivable land and the mountains, there 
generally intervenes a desert space, too high to be inun- 
dated. This tract partly consists of sand and pebbles, 
covering a bed of rock, and partly of drifted sand which 



56 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

has encroached on the cultivable soil. In some places, 
this desert space is two or three miles in width. 

The extent of the cultivated land in Egypt, my brother 
calculates to be equal to rather more than one square de- 
gree and a half; in other words 5,500 square geographi- 
cal miles.* This is less than half the extent of the 
land which is comprised within the confines of the 
desert ; for many parts within the limits of the cultivable 
land are too high to be inundated, and consequently are 
not cultivated; and other parts, particularly in Lower 
Eg}^pt, are occupied by lakes, or marshes, or drifted 
sand. Allowances also must be made for the space 
which is occupied by towns and villages, the river, 
canals, &c. Lower Egypt comprises about the same 
extent of cultivated land as the whole of Upper Egypt.f 

The annual inundation irrigates the land sufficiently 
for one crop; but not without any labour of the fellah (or 
agriculturist) : for care must be taken to detain the water 
by means of dams, or it would subside too soon. The 
highest rise of the Nile ever known would scarcely be 
sufficient if the waters were allowed to drain off the 
fields when the river itself falls. A very high rise of the 
Nile is, indeed, an event not less calamitous than a very 
scanty rise ; for it overflows vast tracts of land which 

* He made this calculation from a list of all the towns 
and villages in Egypt, and the extent of cultivated land 
belonging to each. This list is appended to De Sacy's 
" Abd Allatif." It was made in the year of the Flight 
777 (a.d. 1375-6) ; and may be rather underrated than 
the reverse. The estimate of M. Mengin shows that in 
1821, the extent of the cultivated land was much less; 
but since that period, considerable tracts of waste land 
have been rendered fertile. 

t The term " sharakee" is applied to those lands which 
are above the reach of the inundation, and the term "rei" 
to the rest. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. O i 

cannot be drained, it washes down many of the mud- 
built villages, the huts of which are composed of unburnt 
bricks, and occasions an awful loss of lives as well as 
property. Moreover the plague seldom visits Egypt ex- 
cepting after a very high rise of the Nile. It is, how- 
ever, far from being an invariable consequence of such 
an event. When the river begins to rise, all the canals 
are cleared out, each is closed by a dam of earth at the 
entrance, and opened when the Nile has nearly attained 
its greatest height, towards the end of September. When 
the river begins to fall the canals are closed again, that 
they may retain the water. The lands that are not in- 
undated by the overflowing of the Nile are irrigated arti- 
ficially, if sufficiently near to the river, or to a canal. 

As all the cultivable soil of Egypt has been deposited 
by the river, it might be expected that the land would at 
length rise so high as to be above the reach of the inun- 
dation ; but the bed of the river rises at the same time, 
and in the same degree. 

At Thebes, the Nile rises about thirty-six feet ; at the 
cataracts about forty ; at Rosetta, owing to the proximity 
of the mouth, it only rises to the height of about three 
feet and a half. The Nile begins to rise in the end of 
June, or the beginning of July ; that is to say, about, or 
soon after, the summer solstice, and attains its greatest 
height in the end of September, or sometimes (but rarely) 
in the beginning of October ; that is, in other words, 
about or soon after the autumnal equinox. During the 
first three months of its decrease, it loses about half the 
height it had attained; and during the remaining six 
months, it falls more and more slowly. It generally re- 
mains not longer than three or four days at its maximum, 
and the same length of time at its, minimum : it may 
therefore be said to be three months on the increase, and 
nine months gradually falling. It often remains without 
any apparent increase or diminution, at other times than 
those of its greatest or least elevation, and is subject to 



58 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

other slight irregularities. The Nile becomes turbid a 
little before its rise is apparent, and soon after it assumes 
a green hue, which it retains more than a fortnight. Its 
water is extremely delicious even when it is most im- 
pregnated with earth ; but then the Egyptians (excepting 
the lower orders) usually leave it to settle before they 
drink it, and put it in porous earthen bottles, which cool 
it by evaporation. While the Nile is green, the people 
generally abstain from drinking the water fresh from the 
river, having recourse to a supply previously drawn, and 
kept in cisterns. 

The width of the Nile where there are no islands is in 
few parts more than half a mile. The branches which 
enclose the Delta are not so wide, generally speaking, as 
the undivided stream above ; and the river is as wide in 
most parts of Upper Egypt as in the lower extremity of 
the valley. 

The rapidity of the current when the waters are low is 
not greater than the rate of a mile and a quarter in an 
hour ; but during the higher state of the river, the cur- 
rent is very rapid, and while vessels with furled sails are 
carried down by the stream with great speed, others as- 
cend the river at an almost equal rate, favoured by the 
strong northerly winds, which prevail most when the 
current is most rapid. When the river is low, the wind 
from the north is often more powerful than the current, 
and vessels cannot then descend the stream even with 
the help of oars. 

I believe that I shall have occasion to add a few more 
words on the Nile some days hence, when I hope to send 
you the remainder of the general sketch. 

Meanwhile, believe me to remain, &c. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 59 



LETTER VI. 

October 13th, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

Since I last wrote to you, the weather has continued 
intensely hot ; but during the last three days almost con- 
stant lightning- throughout the evening, though succeeded 
by excessive heat during the nights, has given us hope of 
speedy relief. This heat is attributed to the present state 
of the Nile, which has continued most unusually in- 
creasing up to this time (the 13th of October), and given 
rise to serious apprehensions ; for unless the water drain 
quickly off the land when the river begins to fall, it is 
feared that a severe plague may ensue. In such a case, 
we propose going up to Thebes for four months, but we 
earnestly hope it may please Almighty God to avert so 
dreadful a calamity as a pestilence must inevitably prove. 
I now resume the sketch I left unfinished in my last 
letter. 

The climate of Egypt is generally very salubrious. 
The extraordinary dryness of the atmosphere (excepting 
in the maritime parts) is proved by the wonderful state of 
preservation in which bread, meal, fruits, &c., have been 
found in the tombs of ancient Thebes, after having been 
deposited there two or three thousand years. The ancient 
monuments of Egypt have suifered very little from the 
weather : the colours with which some of them arc 
adorned retain almost their pristine brightness. There 
arises from the waters of the fields a considerable exha- 
lation (though not often visible), during the inundation, 
and for some months afterwards ; but even then it seems 



60 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

perfectly dry immediately within the skirts of the desert, 
where most of the monuments of antiquity are situated.* 

The heat in Egypt is very great ; but not so oppressive 
as might be imagined, on account of that^ extreme dry- 
ness of the atmosphere of which I have spoken, and the 
prevalence of northerly breezes.t 

Rain is a very rare phenomenon in the valley of 
Egypt. In the Sa'eed, a heavy rain falls not oftener, 
on the average, than once in four or five years. My 
brother witnessed such an occurrence at Thebes, a tre- 
mendous storm of lightning and rain, in the autumn of 
1827. Lightning is frequently seen, but thunder is sel- 
dom heard. On that occasion it was quite terrific, and 
lasted throughout a whole night. The torrents which 
pour down the sides and ravines of the naked mountains 
which hem in the valley of Egypt, on these occasions, 
though so rare, leave very conspicuous traces. Here, in 
Cairo, and in the neighbouring parts, there fall on the 
average four or five smart showers in the year, and those 
generally during the winter and spring. Most unusually 
(but this is in every respect an unusual season), it rained 
heavily on the night of the 30th of September. A heavy 
rain very rarely falls, and when it does, much damage 
is done to the houses. In the maritime parts of Egypt, 
rain is not so unfrequent. 

* The damp at this period, slight as it is, occasions 
ophthalmia, diarrhoea, and dysentery, to be more preva- 
lent now than at other times. 

f The general height of the thermometer (Fahrenheit's) 
in Lower Egypt during the hot season, at noon, and in 
the shade, is from 90° to 100° ; in Upper Egypt, from 100° 
to 110° ; and in Nubia, from 110° to 120°, and even 130°, 
though in few years. In the latter country, if placed in 
the sand and exposed to the sun, the thermometer often 
rises to 150° or more. The temperature of Lower Egypt 
in the depth of winter is from 50° to 60°. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 61 

The prevalence of the northwesterly wind is one of 
the most remarkable advantages of climate the Egyptians 
enjoy. The northwest breeze is ever refreshing and 
salubrious, beneficial to vegetation, and of the greatest 
importance in facilitating the Nile at almost every season 
of the year, and particularly during that period when the 
river is rising, and the current consequently the most 
rapid. During the first three months of the decrease of 
the river, that is, from the autumnal equinox to the winter- 
solstice, the wind is rather variable ; sometimes blowing 
from the west, south, or east; but still the northerly 
winds are most frequent. During the next three months 
the wind is more variable ; and during the last three 
months of the decrease of the river, from the vernal 
equinox to the summer solstice, winds from the south, or 
southeast, often hot and very oppressive, are frequent, 
but of short duration. 

During a period called " El-Khamaseen," hot southerly 
winds are very frequent, and particularly noxious. This 
period is said to commence on the day after the Coptic 
festival of Easter-Sunday, and to terminate on Whit- 
Sunday ; thus continuing forty-nine days. It generally 
begins in the latter part of April, and lasts during the 
whole of May. This is the most unhealthy season in 
Egypt ; and while it lasts the inhabitants are apprehen- 
sive of being visited by the plague ; but their fears cease 
on the termination of that period. It is remarkable that 
we have already suffered much from the hot wind, for it 
is most unusual at this season. During July and August 
it was frequently distressing ; and I can only compare it 
to the blast from a furnace, rendering every article of 
furniture literally hot, and always continuing three days. 
Having, happily, glass windows, we closed them in the 
direction of the wind, and found the close atmosphere 
infinitely more bearable than the heated blast. This 
was a season of extreme anxiety, being quite an unex- 
6 



62 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

pected ordeal for my children ; but, I thank God, except- 
ing slight indisposition, they escaped unhurt. 

The " Samoom," which is a very violent, hot, and 
almost suffocating wind, is of more rare occurrence than 
the Khamaseen winds, and of shorter duration ; its con- 
tinuance being more brief in proportion to the intensity 
of its parching heat, and the impetuosity of its course. 
Its direction is generally from the southeast, or south- 
southeast. It is commonly preceded by a fearful calm. 
As it approaches, the atmosphere assumes a yellowish 
hue, tinged with red ; the sun appears of a deep blood 
colour, and gradually becomes quite concealed before the 
hot blast is felt in its full violence. The sand and dust 
raised by the wind add to the gloom, and increase the 
painful effects of the heat and rarity of the air. Respi- 
ration becomes uneasy, perspiration seems to be entirely 
stopped; the tongue is dry, the skin parched, and a 
prickling sensation is experienced, as if caused by elec- 
tric sparks. It is sometimes impossible for a person to 
remain erect, on account of the force of the wind ; and 
the sand and dust oblige all who are exposed to it to keep 
their eyes closed. It is, however, most distressing when 
it overtakes travellers in the desert. My brother encoun- 
tered at Koos, in Upper Egypt, a samoom which was said 
to be one of the most violent ever witnessed. It lasted 
less than half an hour, and a very violent samoom seldom 
continues longer. My brother is of opinion that, although 
it is extremely distressing, it can never prove fatal, unless 
to persons already brought almost to the point of death 
by disease, fatigue, thirst, or some other cause. The 
poor camel seems to suffer from it equally with his mas- 
ter ; and will often lie down with his back to the wind, 
close his eyes, stretch out his long neck upon the ground, 
and so remain until the storm has passed over. 

Another very remarkable phenomenon is the "Zoba'ali,'' 
and very common in Egypt, and in the adjacent deserts. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYFT. 63 

It is a whirlwind, which raises the sand or dust in the 
form of a pillar, generally of immense height.* These 
whirling pillars of sand (of which my brother has seen 
more than twelve in one day, and often two or three at a 
time during the spring) are carried sometimes with great 
rapidity across the deserts and fields of Egypt, and over 
the river. My brother's boat was twice crossed by a 
zoba'ah ; but on each occasion its approach w T as seen, and 
necessary precautions were taken : both the sails were 
let fly a few moments before it reached the boat ; but the 
boxes and cushions in the cabin were thrown down by 
the sudden heeling of the vessel, and every thing was 
covered with sand and dust. 

The " Sarab," called by Europeans " mirage," which 
resembles a lake, and is so frequently seen in the desert, 
tantalizing the thirsty traveller, I mentioned to you in a 
former letter. The illusion is often perfect, the objects 
within and beyond the apparent lake being reflected by 
it with the utmost precision. You probably know that 
the reflection is produced by a heated stratum of air upon 
the glow T ing surface of a plain, and you may have seen 
something of the same kind in England. 

The fields in the vicinity of the river, and of the great 
canals, are irrigated by means of machines at all seasons 
of the year, if not subject to the natural inundation. 

* " I measured" (says my brother) " the height of a 
zoba'ah, with a sextant, at Thebes, under circumstances 
which insured a very near approximation to perfect ac- 
curacy (observing its altitude from an elevated spot, at 
the precise moment when it passed through, and violently 
agitated, a distant group of palm-trees), and found it to 
be seven hundred and fifty feet I think that several 
zoba'ahs I have seen were of greater height. Others 
which 1 measured at the same place were between five 
and seven hundred feet in height." — Modern Egyptians, 
3d Edition, Part I. chap. x. 



64 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

For a description of these, I refer you to the " Modern 
Egyptians," 3d edition, Part II., chap. i. ; and I will now 
conclude this letter with a concise physical and agricul- 
tural calendar of Egypt, drawn up by my brother from 
Arabic works, and from his own observations. 

January. — The mean temperature in the afternoon 
during this month at Cairo is about 60°. The waters 
which, during the season of the inundation, had been 
retained upon the fields by means of dams, have now 
sunk into the soil ; but water still remains in some of the 
large canals, their mouths having been stopped up. The 
river has lost about half the height it had attained ; that 
is to say, it has sunk about twelve feet in and about the 
latitude of Cairo. The wind at this season, and through- 
out the winter, is very variable ; but the northerly winds 
are most frequent. People should now abstain from 
eating fowls, and all crude and cold vegetables. The 
poppy is sown. It is unwholesome to drink waler during 
the night at this season, and throughout the winter. The 
fifth Coptic month (Toobeh) begins on the 8th or 9 th of 
January.* Now is the season of extreme cold. Beef 
should not be eaten at this period. The fields begin to 
be covered with verdure. The vines are trained. Car- 
rots are plentiful. Onions sown. The date-plum sown. 
The ripe sugar-canes cut. 

February. — The mean temperature in the afternoon 
during this month at Cairo is about 66°. End of the 
season of extreme cold.f The fields every where through- 

* See a note on the beginning of the first Coptic month, 
in September. The Egyptians (Muslims as well as 
Christians) still divide the seasons by the Coptic months ; 
but for dates, in their writings, they generally use the 
lunar Mohammedan months. 

t Such is the statement of the Egyptian almanacs ; but 
there are generally as cold days in the month of Amsheer 
as in Toobeh, and sometimes colder. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 65 

out Egypt are covered with verdure. The sixth Coptic 
month (Amsheer) begins on the 7th or 8th of February. 
Warm water should be drunk fasting at this season. 
The wind very variable. The harvest of beans. The 
pomegranate tree blossoms. Vines are planted. Trees 
put forth their leaves. The season of the winds which 
bring rain, called el-Cawakeh. The cold ceases to be 
severe. 

March. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during 
this month, at Cairo, about 68°. End of the season for 
planting trees. The seventh Coptic month (Barmahat) 
begins on the 9th of March. Variable and tempestuous 
winds. The Vernal Equinox. During the quarter now 
commencing the river continues decreasing ; the wind 
often blows from the south or southeast ; and the samoom 
winds (from the same quarters) occur most frequently 
during this period ; the plague also generally visits Egypt 
at this season, if at all. The weather becomes mild. 
Northerly winds become prevalent. The wheat-harvest 
begins. Lentils are reaped ; cotton, sesame, and indigo 
sown ; and the sugar-cane planted. The barley-harvest 
begins. 

April. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during this 
month, at Cairo, about 76°. Time for taking medicine. 
The eighth Coptic month (Barmoodeh) begins on the 
8th of April. Samoom winds. Time for the fecundation 
of the date-palm. Rice sown. The wheat-harvest in 
Lower Egypt. Beginning of the first season for sowing 
millet. The Khamaseen winds generally commence in 
this month. 

May. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during this 
month, at Cairo, about 85°. The Khamaseen winds pre- 
vail principally during this month; and the season is 
consequently unhealthy. Winter clothing disused. The 
ninth Coptic month (Beshens) begins on the 8th of May. 
Time for taking medicine, and losing blood. Season of 
the yellow water-melon. Cucumbers sown. The apricot 
6* 



66 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

bears ; and the mulberry. Turnips sown. . End of the 
first season for sowing millet. The apricot ripens. Be- 
ginning of the season of great heat. Beginning also of 
the season of hot winds, called " el-bawareh," which 
prevail during forty days. 

June. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during this 
month, at Cairo, about 94°. Strong northerly winds pre- 
vail about this time. The water of the Nile becomes 
turbid, but does not yet begin to rise. The tenth Coptic 
month (Ba-ooneh) begins on the 7th of June. The ba- 
nana sown. Samoom winds. Strong perfumes (as musk, 
&c.) are disused now, and throughout the summer. The 
yellow water-melon abundant. The plague, if any existed 
previously, now ceases. Honey collected. People should 
abstain from drinking the water of the Nile at this sea- 
son for fifteen days,* unless first boiled. " The drop" (en 
nuktah) descends into the Nile, and, according to popular 
belief, causes it to increase soon after ;t this is said to 
happen on the 11th of Ba-ooneh, which corresponds with 
the 17th of June: it is the day before the Coptic festival 
of Michael the Archangel. The flesh of the kid is pre- 
ferred at this season, and until the end of summer. Sa- 
moom winds blow occasionally during a period of seventy 
days now commencing. The Summer Solstice ; when 
the day is fourteen hours long in Lower Egypt. During 
the quarter now beginning (z. e. during the period of the 
increase of the Nile) northerly winds prevail almost un- 
interruptedly, excepting at night, when it is generally 
calm. Though the heat is great, this quarter is the most 
healthy season of the year. The Nile begins to rise now, 
or a few days earlier or later. The season for grapes and 
figs commences. Peaches plentiful. 

July. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during this 

* Commencing from the 10th of Ba-ooneh (or the 16th 
of June). 

f It is really a heavy dew which falls about this time. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 67 

month, at Cairo, about 98 D . The rise of the Nile is now 
daily proclaimed in the metropolis. Locusts die, or dis- 
appear, in every part of Egypt. The eleventh Coptic 
month (Ebeeb) begins on the 7th of July. Violent north- 
erly winds prevail for fifteen days * Honey abundant. 
People should abstain from eating plentifully at this sea- 
son. The noonday heat is now excessive. Ophthalmia 
prevails now, but not so much now as in the autumn. 
The bawaheer, or seven days of extreme heat, fall at the 
end of this month.f Grapes and figs abundant. Maize 
is now sown. Harvest of the first crop of millet. The 
date ripens. 

August. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during 
this month, at Cairo, about 92°. Season for pressing 
grapes. The last Coptic month (Misra) begins on the 
6th of August. Onions should not be eaten at this time. 
Radishes and carrots sown. Cold water should be drunk, 
fasting. Water-melons plentiful. The season for gather- 
ing cotton. The pomegranate ripens. Violent northerly 
winds. Sweetmeats should not be eaten at this time. 
" The wedding of the Nile" takes place on the 14th, or 
one of the five following days of the month of Misra (the 
19th to the 24th of August) ; this is when the dam of 
earth which closes the entrance of the canal of Cairo is 
broken down ; it having been first announced that the 
river has risen (in the latitude of the metropolis) sixteen 
cubits, which is an exaggeration.! Second season for 

* Fleas disappear now ; and if you can form a just 
idea of the annoyance they occasion, you will not think 
the insertion of this information unimportant. 

t They are said to commence on the 20th of Ebeeb, or 
26th of July. 

X The true rise at this period is about 19 or 20 feet ; 
the river, therefore, has yet to rise about 4 or 5 feet 
more, on the average. 



68 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

sowing- millet. Musquitoes abound now. End of the 
seventy days in which samoora winds frequently occur. 

September. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during 
this month, at Cairo, about 88°. White beet and turnip 
sown. Windy weather. The beginning of the month 
Toot — the first of the Coptic year ; corresponding with 
the 10th or 11th of September, according as five or six 
intercalary days are added at the end of the Coptic year 
preceding.* Ripe dates abundant, and limes. Windy 
weather. The Autumnal Equinox. The Nile is now, 
or a few days later, at its greatest height ; and all the 
canals are opened. During the quarter now commencing 
(i. e. during the first three months of the decrease of the 
river), the wind is very variable ; often blowing from the 
west, and sometimes from the south. The exhalations 
from the alluvial soil, in consequence of the inundation, 
occasion ophthalmia, diarrhoea, and dysentery to be more 
prevalent in this quarter than at other seasons. Harvest 
of sesame. 

October. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during 
this month, at Cairo, about 80°. The leaves of trees 
become yellow. Green sugar-canes cut, to be sucked. 
Drinking water at night, after sleep, is pernicious at this 
season. The henna-leaves gathered. Winter vegetables 

* " Five intercalary days are added at the end of three 
successive years ; and six at the end of the fourth year. 
The Coptic leap-year immediately precedes ours : there- 
fore, the Coptic year begins on the 11th of September, 
only when it is the next after their leap-year ; or when 
our next ensuing year is a leap-year : and consequently 
after the following February, the corresponding days of 
the Coptic and our months will be the same as in other 
years. The Copts begin their reckoning from the era 
of Diocletian, a. d. 284." — Modern Egyptians, Part I., 
chap. ix. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 69 

sown. The second Coptic month (Babeh) begins on the 
10th or 11th of October. Wheat, barley, lentils, beans, 
lupins, chick-peas, kidney-beans, trefoil, fenugreek, cole- 
w-ort, lettuce, and safflower are sown now, or a little 
latter. Bleeding is injurious now. The dews resulting 
from the inundation increase. 

November. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during 
this month, at Cairo, about 12°. The cold during the 
latter part of the night is now pernicious. The third 
Coptic month (Katoor) begins on the 9th or 10th of No- 
vember. Rain is now expected in Lower Egypt. The 
" mereesee," or south wind, prevalent. The rice-harvest. 
The maize-harvest, and second harvest of millet. Winter- 
clothing assumed. Bananas plentiful. 

December. — Mean temperature in the afternoon during 
this month, at Cairo, about 68°. Tempestuous and 
cloudy weather. Strong perfumes, as musk, ambergris/ 
&c, are agreeable now. The fourth Coptic month 
(Kiyahk) begins on the 9th or 10th of December. The 
leaves of trees fall. The Winter Solstice ; when the 
day is ten hours long in Lower Egypt. The wind is 
variable during this quarter. Beginning of the season 
for planting trees. Fleas multiply. The vines are pruned. 
Beef is not considered wholesome food at this season. 



70 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER VII. 

October 18th, Ramadan, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

The leading topic of conversation in this country, at 
the present time, is the state of the Nile, which has 
hitherto (to the 18th of October) continued rising, and 
occasioned a general fear that a severe plague will ensue 
on the subsiding of the inundation. In 1818, it rose 
until the 16th of October; but never so late since that 
time, nor for a considerable period before. Our house is 
flooded in the lower part ; and in some of the streets of 
Cairo, the water is within a foot of the surface, while it 
has entered many of the houses. 

This is the 12th day of Ramadan, or the month of ab- 
stinence ; and I do heartily pity those who observe the 
fast, for the weather is again intensely hot, and it is mar- 
vellous how any person can observe the law, denying 
himself from daybreak to sunset even a draught of water. 
I really think there are very many conscientious fasters ; 
and it would interest you exceedingly to walk through 
the streets of Cairo during this month, and observe the 
varieties of deportment visible among the people. Some 
are sitting idly, holding an ornamented stick, or with a 
string of beads in their hands. Boys, fasting for the 
first time, and even men, are endeavouring to distract 
their attention with the most childish toys ; while many 
are exhibiting, in various ways, that fasting does not im- 
prove their tempers. 

Some days since, as it drew near the hour of sunset, 
an aged couple were passing near our present dwelling, 
the old woman leading her blind husband by the hand, 
and carrying his pipe, that it might be ready for him as 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 71 

soon as the law should allow him to enjoy it. Bent as 
they were by age and infirmity, it was sad to see that 
they were evidently among the fasters, and it was a sight 
to excite compassion and respect ; for as so many of the 
aged sink into their last earthly home, when the month 
of abstinence has passed, the fear that they too might 
prove martyrs to the requirements of their religion was 
far from groundless, and naturally present to the mind of 
the observer. 

The great among the Muslims in general turn night 
into day during Ramadan ; therefore they are seldom 
seen in the streets. Most of them sleep from daybreak 
until the afternoon ; while others break their fast in pri- 
vate. I do not think that this is done by the lower orders ; 
and no one can hear the cry of joy which rings and 
echoes through the city at sunset, when, in token that 
the fasting is over, for at least some hours, a cannon is 
discharged from the citadel, without rejoicing with the 
people, that another day of Ramadan has passed. But 
no sound is so imposing as the night-call to prayer from 
the numerous menarets. I mentioned to you our im- 
pressions on hearing it first at Alexandria ; but here, in 
Cairo, it is infinitely more striking. On some occasions, 
when the wind is favourable, we can hear perhaps a hun- 
dred voices, in solemn, and indeed harmonious, concert. 
Here the Mueddins, raised between earth and heaven, 
call on their fellow-creatures to worship Heaven's God ; 
and oh ! as their voices are borne on the night-wind, let 
the silent prayer of every Christian who hears them 
ascend to a throne of grace for mercy on their behalf 
They are more especially objects of pity, because they 
have the light of the Gospel in their land ; but how is 
that light obscured ! prejudice, and (shall I write it ?) the 
conduct of many Europeans dwelling among them, and 
calling themselves Christians, have blinded their eyes, 
and because of the sins of others, the true Christian 
spends his strength in vain. Far be it from me to cast a 



72 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

sweeping censure, but our respectable and respected 
friends here will join me as I raise my voice against 
those nominal Christians, who, by their profligacy, prove 
ever " rocks a-head" to the already prejudiced Muslim. 
This always important city may now be ranked among 
u men's thoroughfares" in a wide sense, and we must 
only hope that the day may come w T hen the phrase, 
" these are Christians," will no longer convey reproach. 

The Mohammedan months are lunar, and consequently 
retrograde ; and when Ramadan occurs in the summer, 
the obligation to abstain from water during the long 
sultry days is fearful in its consequences. At sunset, the 
fasting Muslim takes his breakfast ; and this meal gene- 
rally commences with light refreshments, such as sweet 
cakes, raisins, &c. ; for, from long abstinence, many per- 
sons find themselves in so weak a state, that they cannot 
venture to eat immediately a full meal. Many break 
their fast with merely a glass of sherbet, or a cup of 
coffee. This refreshment is succeeded by a substantial 
meal, equal to their usual dinner. They often retire to 
obtain a short sleep. Usually, two hours after sunset, 
criers greet all the persons in their respective districts, 
beating a small drum at the doors, and saying something 
complimentary to the inmates of each house. Again, 
the morning call to prayer is chanted much earlier than 
usual, perhaps an hour and a half before daybreak, to 
remind all to take their second meal ; and the crier also 
goes another round, making a loud noise, in which he 
perseveres until he is answered, at each house w T here his 
attention is required. Thus, you see, no small pains are 
taken to remind the faster to avail himself of his oppor- 
tunities ; and it is singular to hear the variety of noises 
which disturb the nights of this most unpleasant month. 
At daybreak, each morning, the last signal is made from 
the citadel, by the firing of a cannon, for the removal of 
all food; and on some occasions, this report seems to 
shake the city to the very foundations. The open lattice 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 73 

windows oblige us to hear all the noises I have described. 
Our windows are furnished with glazed frames, in addi- 
tion to the carved wooden lattice-work, but the former 
are only closed in the winter, for those who desire to en- 
joy any sleep during the hot season must keep all win- 
dows (and if possible doors also) open. Judging by my 
own surprise at the degree of heat we have endured since 
our arrival, I imagine you have no adequate idea of it. 
On my opening, a few days since, a card-box full of seal- 
ing-wax, I found the whole converted into an oblong 
mass, fitting the lower part of the box. 

As to the vermin of Egypt, I really think that theses 
occasion the greatest annoyance, so abundant are they, 
and so distressing. Nets placed at the doors and windows 
exclude them ; but there are days, indeed weeks and 
months, in Egypt, when the temperature is so oppressive, 
that it is not possible to allow the air to be impeded, even 
by a net. Musquitoes, too, are very troublesome in the 
mornings and evenings, and much reduce the comfort of 
early rising. This is a serious inconvenience here, for we 
find the most agreeable hours are in the early mornings 
and in the cool evenings, after sunset. The old houses 
abound with bugs, but in this respect we have been par- 
ticularly fortunate ; for we have not been annoyed by these 
very disgusting insects. Fleas are very troublesome during 
their season, I am told, but with us their season has not 
yet begun ; and I think and hope cleanliness in our houses 
will, in a great degree, prevent their attentions. " There 
are insects" (as I once heard a lecturer on natural history 
express himself) " which must be nameless in all polite 
society ;" therefore, my dear friend, they must be name- 
less here, but of these we have seen five. These arrived 
at five different times in parcels of new linen from a ba- 
zaar, and their arrival has occasioned the closest scrutiny 
when any thing new is brought to us. 

Rats, also, are extremely annoying, and nothing escapes 
their depredations, unless secured in wire safes, or hung 
7 



74 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

up at a sufficient distance from the walls. These animals 
run about our bedrooms during the nights ; and I some- 
times think they come in at the open windows. They are 
generally harmless, but sufficiently tiresome. Lizards, 
too, are very common, but perfectly innocuous, and occupy 
themselves entirely on the ceilings and windows in chasing 
flies, on which they seem to subsist. I told you I feared 
much from the antiquated cobwebs that spiders would be 
numerous. They are so, truly, and so very large that I 
will not risk giving my opinion of their size ; it is so far 
beyond any European specimen I have seen. But the 
gravest annoyances are scorpions, and of these we have 
found three, one of which was exactly three inches in 
length. I was much distressed on finding these, but com- 
forted on hearing that if the wound they inflict be imme- 
diately scarified, and an application of sal ammoniac be 
made, it does not prove fatal. These applications, how- 
ever, though absolutely necessary, are very painful ; and I 
trust we may be spared the necessity of resorting to such 
means. Fearing for my children, for their sakes I am a 
coward, and I feel it is ever necessary to bear in mind 
that we cannot wander where we can be outcasts from the 
care of Heaven, or strangers to the protecting Providence 
of God. 

I have suffered this letter to remain unfinished for a 
whole week, expecting daily that I might be able to tell 
you of the end of this year's inundation. This I am now 
able to do ; but must first mention, that we have expe- 
rienced a most extraordinary storm of wind, accompanied 
by such clouds of dust, that we were obliged to close our 
eyes and wait patiently until its fury had in some mea- 
sure passed away. When it abated we looked out upon 
the city, and could only see the tops of its menarets above 
the sea of dust, and its lofty palm-trees bending before 
the blast. I have heard such a hurricane, during the 
night, once since our arrival in Cairo, and fearful indeed 
it was, but I have never seen its effects until now. This 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 75 

was not one of the winds to which the Easterns give a 
name, such as the Zoba'ah, the Khamaseen winds, or the 
Samoom ; but a strong sweeping wind from the northeast. 
In looking down upon the many ruins of Cairo, I feel 
astonished by the fact of their withstanding such a hurri- 
cane. A storm like this is generally preceded and fol- 
lowed by a perfect calm. 

This day (the 25th of October) is the first of the decrease 
of the Nile. It is usually at its greatest height, as I have 
already mentioned, at the end of September. It is not 
extraordinary that it should be a high inundation ; that is 
well accounted for this year, as it has been in the two pre- 
ceding years, by the construction of many new embank- 
ments, but it is the lateness of the inundation which is so 
exceedingly unusual. It rose considerably on the 23d 
instant, and on the 24th slightly ; and I find no one with 
whom we are acquainted here among the residents who 
remembers such an occurrence. 

" A very grievous murrain," forcibly reminding us of 
that which visited this same country in the days of Moses, 
has prevailed during the last three months, and the already 
distressed peasants feel the calamity severely, or rather (I 
should say) the few who possess cattle. Among the rich 
men of the country, the loss has been enormous. During 
our voyage up the Nile, we observed several dead cows 
and buffaloes lying in the river, as I mentioned in a for- 
mer letter ; and some friends who followed us two months 
after, saw many on the banks ; indeed, up to this time, 
great numbers of cattle are dying in every part of the 
country, and the prevailing excitement leads me to recur 
to the subject. 



76 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYfT. 



LETTER VIII. 

November 26th. j 
My dear Friend, 

I have just returned from witnessing the curious pro- 
cession of the Mahmal, preparatory to the departure of the 
great caravan of pilgrims to Mekkah. We were early on 
the way, and after riding for nearly an hour we found 
ourselves in the main street of the city, opposite to the 
Khan el-Khaleelee, the chief Turkish bazaar of Cairo. I 
felt more than ever convinced that donkeys were the only 
safe means of conveyance in the streets of this city. A 
lady never rides but on a donkey, with a small carpet laid 
over the saddle. For gentlemen, horses are now more 
used than donkeys ; but their riders encounter much 
inconvenience. In many cases, this morning, our don- 
keys threaded their way among loaded camels, where 
horses were turned back ; and my apprehensions lest the 
large bales of goods should really sweep my boys from 
their saddles, were scarcely removed by the extreme care 
of their attendants, who always kept one arm round each 
of my children, in passing through the dangerous thorough- 
fares. I assure you it is an exceedingly awkward thing 
to ride through the streets of Cairo at any time, but espe- 
cially so during a season of festivity. 

We had engaged for the day a room on a first floor, 
commanding a good view of the street, and we had not 
been long seated before an extraordinary uproar com- 
menced. This arose from crowds of boys, provided with 
sticks, and absolutely privileged (as is usual on the days 
of this procession) to beat all Christians and Jews. A poor 
Frank gentleman was attacked under the window we 
were occupying, and protected with difficulty by some 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 77 

Arabs, who interposed with much kindness. It was 
especially matter of congratulation to-day, that our party 
were supposed to be Easterns, and that we had so learnt 
to carry the dress that we were not suspected. On one 
occasion, not long since, my donkey stumbled, and a 
Turkish gentleman, who was passing me, exclaimed, 
" Ya Satir" (O ! Protector). Had he supposed I was an 
Englishwoman, I imagine he would not have invoked 
protection for me. The prejudice against Europeans is 
especially strong, as they are said to have enlightened 
the Pasha too much on matters of finance ; but to-day 
I will dismiss this subject, and tell you of the procession, 
while it is fresh in my recollection. 

The first persons who passed, belonging to the pro- 
cession, were two men with drawn swords, who en- 
gaged occasionally in mock combat. Next came a gro- 
tesque person, well mounted, and wearing a high pointed 
cap, and an immense beard of twisted hemp, and clothed 
in sheep-skins. He held a slender stick in his right 
hand, and in his left a bundle of papers, on which he 
pretended, with a tragi-comical expression of counte- 
nance, to write judicial opinions. Next followed the gun 
of the caravan, a small brass field-piece, an hour and a 
half before noon, preceded by a company of Nizam troops, 
and followed by another company, headed by their band ; 
the musical instruments being European. I cannot praise 
their performance, yet it approached nearer to music than 
any attempt I have heard in Egypt. It remains, how- 
ever, for me to hear the professional singers of this coun- 
try ; and I am told by persons of undoubted taste, that if 
I do not admire the airs they sing, I shall be surprised 
at their skill and the quality of their voices. 

The soldiers were followed by a long procession of 
Darweeshes. First came the Saadeeyeh, with numerous 
flags, bearing, in many cases, the names of God, Mo- 
hammad, and the founder of their order, on a ground of 
green silk. Most of these Darweeshes were beating a 
7* 



78 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

small kettle-drum called baz, which is held in the left 
hand, and beaten w T ith a short thick strap. Some were 
beating cymbals, and all repeating religious ejaculations, 
chiefly names and epithets of God. They were perpe- 
tually bowing their heads to the right and to the left 
during the w T hole repetition, and this motion was ren- 
dered the more apparent by many of them wearing very 
high felt caps ; then, the variety in their costume, and, 
more than all, the gravity of their deportment, combined 
to rivet our attention. These Darweeshes were followed 
by a body of their parent order (the Refa-eeyeh), bearing 
black flags, and also beating bazes and cymbals, and re- 
peating the like ejaculations. Their sheykh, a venerable- 
looking person, wearing a very large black turban, rode 
behind them, on horseback. Then passed the Kadiree- 
yeh Darweeshes : their principal insignia were borne by 
members of their order; viz. palm-sticks, for fishing- 
rods ; and fishing-nets strained on hoops, and raised on 
long poles, with many small fish suspended round them. 
They carried white flags. Next followed the Ahmedee- 
yeh, and Barahimeh Darweeshes, bearing red and green 
flags ; and immediately after these came " the Mahmal." 
The Mahmal is a mere emblem of royalty, and con- 
tains nothing ; but two copies of the Kuran, in cases of 
gilt silver, are fastened to the exterior. It is an imitation 
of a covered litter, borne on the back of a camel ; and it 
accompanies the caravan yearly, forming, if I may use 
the expression, the banner of the pilgrims. Many persons 
have understood that it contains the Kisweh, or new 
covering for the temple of Mekkah ; but they are mis- 
taken. The origin of this ceremony, as related in the 
" Modern Egyptians," w T as as follows : — ' Sheger-ed-Durr 
(commonly called Shegerel-ed-Durr), a beautiful Turkish 
female slave, who became the favourite wife of the Sultan 
Es-Saleh Negm-ed-Deen, and on the death of his son 
(with whom terminated the dynasty of the house of 
Eiyoob) caused herself to be acknowledged as Queen of 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. t \) 

Egypt, performed the pilgrimage in a magnificent Hodag 
(or covered litter), borne by a camel ; and for several suc- 
cessive years her empty litter was sent with the caravan 
merely for the sake of state. Hence, succeeding princes 
of Egypt sent with each year's caravan of pilgrims a kind 
of Hodag (which received the name of Mahmal, or Mah- 
mil) as an emblem of royalty, and the kings of other 
countries followed their example."* The usual covering 
of the Mahmal has been black brocade ; that I have seen 
this morning is red, and I understand that it is shabby in 
comparison with those of former years : indeed each year 
(my brother tells me) all that is connected with this pro- 
cession becomes less remarkable, and less money is ex- 
pended on it by the government. But to me, and to 
those of us who had not previously seen it, it was ex- 
tremely interesting. There were none of the great men 
habited in cloth of gold, who preceded it on former occa- 
sions ; neither were the camels handsomely caparisoned. 

The half-naked sheykh who has for so many years fol- 
lowed the Mahmal, incessantly rolling his head, for which 
feat he receives a gratuity from the government, rode on 
a fine horse immediately after it. If he be the same man 
(and I am informed he is the very same) who has year 
after 3^ear committed this absurdity, it is wonderful that 
his head has borne such unnatural and long-continued 
motion. There followed him a number of led camels and 
horses, and their decorations were extremely picturesque, 
but not costly. The camels were ornamented in various 
ways ; one having small bells, strung on either side of a 
saddle ornamented with coloured cloth ; others with palm- 
branches, ostrich feathers, and small flags fixed on similar 
saddles decorated with cowries. These were succeeded 
by a company of regular troops, followed by the Emeer-el- 
Hagg (or chief of the pilgrims). Then passed the usual 
collection of the presents which are distributed during the 

* Modern Egyptians, 3d ed., part ii., p. 203. 



80 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

pilgrimage ; and then, a number of drummers mounted 
on camels, and beating enormous kettle-drums : after 
these, some more led camels, and a numerous group bear- 
ing mesh'als, the tops of which were covered with co- 
loured kerchiefs. " The mesh'al is a staff with a cylin- 
drical frame of iron at the top filled with wood, or having 
two, three, four, or five of these receptacles for fire."* 
These were for the purpose of lighting the caravan ; as 
the journey is mostly performed during the cool hours of 
night. Another company of officers and soldiers fol- 
lowed these ; and then the litter and baggage of the 
Emeer-el-Ha gg. His first supply of water passed next, 
borne by a number of camels, each laden with four skins ; 
and these were succeeded by led camels closing the 
procession. 

Had we gone merely with the view of seeing the spec- 
tators, we should have been amply rewarded. The shops 
and their benches were crowded with people of many 
countries ; and the variety in their costume and manners 
formed an amusing study. The windows of the first and 
second floors were perfectly full of women, children, and 
slaves ; and here and there a richly embroidered dress 
was seen through the lattice. 

On one point all denominations of people seemed 
agreed ; viz. in purchasing something for their children 
from almost all the venders of sweets, and many passed 
constantly on this occasion ; therefore their poor children 
kept up a continual system of cramming during the whole 
procession ; and here my eyes were opened to a new man- 
ner of accounting for the generally wretched appearance 
of the children of this country. Their parents put any 
thing and every thing that is eatable into their mouths, 
without the slightest regard to its being wholesome or 
otherwise. How then can they be strong or healthy ? 

* Modern Egyptians, 3d ed., part i., p. 254. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 81 



LETTER IX. 

November, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

I have already attempted to describe to you my im- 
pressions on my first entry into Cairo. My ideas of it, 
for a considerable time, were very confused ; it seemed 
to me, for the most part, a labyrinth of ruined and half- 
ruined houses, of the most singular construction ; and in 
appearance so old, that I was surprised at being informed 
that, only a few years ago, it presented a far less unhappy 
aspect. 

Cairo is dignified with the name of Umm-ed-Dunya 
(the Mother of the World) and other sounding appella- 
tions. Though it has much declined since the discovery 
of the passage to India by the Cape of Good Hope, and 
more especially of late years, it is still one of the most 
considerable cities in the East. It is altogether an Ara- 
bian city ; and the very finest specimens of Arabian 
architecture are found within its walls. The private 
houses are in general moderately large ; the lower part 
of stone, and the superstructure of brick ; but some are 
little better than huts. 

The streets are unpaved, and very narrow, generally 
from five to ten feet wide. Some are even less than four 
feet in width; but there are others as much as forty or 
fifty feet wide, though not for any great length. I must 
describe the streets under their different appellations. 

A share', or great thoroughfare-street, is generally 
somewhat irregular both in its direction and width. In 
most parts the width is scarcely more than sufficient for 
two loaded camels to proceed at a time ; and hence much 
inconvenience is often occasioned to the passenger, 



82 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

though carriages are very rarely encountered. All bur- 
dens are borne by camels, if too heavy for asses ; and 
vast numbers of the former, as well as many of the latter, 
are employed in supplying the inhabitants of Cairo with 
the water of the Nile, which is conveyed in skins, the 
camel carrying a pair of skin bags, and the ass a goat- 
skin, tied round at the neck. The great thoroughfare- 
streets being often half obstructed by these animals, and 
generally crowded with passengers, some on foot, and 
others riding, present striking scenes of bustle and con- 
fusion, particularly when two long trains of camels hap- 
pen to meet each other where there is barely room enough 
for them to pass, which is often the case. Asses are in 
very general use, and most convenient for riding through 
such streets as those of Cairo, and are always to be pro- 
cured for hire. They are preferred to horses even by 
some men of the wealthier classes of the Egyptians. 
Their paces are quick and easy ; and the kind of saddle 
with which they are furnished is a very comfortable seat : 
it is a broad, party-coloured pack-saddle. A servant 
generally runs with the donkey ; and exerts himself, by 
almost incessant bawling, to clear the way for his master. 
The horseman proceeds with less comfort, and less speed, 
— seldom beyond the rate of a slow walk ; and though 
preceded by a servant, and sometimes by two servants to 
clear his way, he is often obliged to turn back : it is, 
therefore, not often that a numerous cavalcade is seen in 
the more frequented streets; and there are some streets 
so contracted that a person on horseback cannot pass 
through them. It is not uncommon for individuals of 
the higher and middle classes in Cairo to exchange salu- 
tations in the streets, though unacquainted with each 
other. Thus the Muslim salutation was often given to 
my brother, a fact which I mention merely to show the 
fallacy of the opinion that the natives of the East can 
easily detect, even by a glance, a European in Oriental 
disguise. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 83 

A stranger, with lofty ideas of Eastern magnificence, 
must be surprised at the number of meanly. dressed per- 
sons whom he meets in the streets of Cairo. Blue is the 
prevailing colour ; as the principal article of dress, both 
of the men and women of the lower orders, is a full shirt 
of cotton or linen, dyed with indigo, which is the pro- 
duction of the country. The blue shirts of the men, 
particularly of the servants, often conceal vests of silk 
and cloth. Some persons are so poor as not even to pos- 
sess a ragged turban ; their only head-dress being a close- 
fitting cap of white, or brown felt, or an old turboosh ;* 
and many are without shoes. Christians and Jews are 
distinguished by a black, or blue, or light-brown turban. 
The costumes of the women, and especially of the ladies, 
are the most remarkable in the eyes of the European 
stranger. The elegant dress which they wear at home 
is concealed whenever they appear in public by a very 
full silk gown (called t6b), and a large black silk cover- 
ing (called habarah) enveloping almost the whole person ; 
or, instead of the latter, in the case of unmarried ladies, 
a white silk covering : the face veil (burko') is of white 
muslin ; it is narrow, and reaches from the eyes nearly 
to the feet. Thus encumbered, it is with some difficulty 
that the ladies shuffle along in their slippers ; but they 
are seldom seen in the crowded streets on foot: well- 
trained donkeys are hired for their convenience, and are 
furnished, for this purpose, with a high and broad saddle, 
covered with a carpet, upon which the lady sits astride, 
attended by a servant on each side. A long train of 
ladies, and female slaves attired in the same manner, one 
behind another, a whole hareem, is often seen thus 
mounted ; and passengers of all ranks make way for 
them with the utmost respect. The women of the infe- 
rior classes wear a black face veil, which I think much 
more becoming than the white. It is sometimes adorned 

* The red cloth skull-cap, round which the turban is 
wound. 



84 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

with gold coins and beads ; or they draw a part of the 
head veil before the face, leaving only one eye visible. 

Numbers of blind persons are seen in the streets of 
Cairo ; and many more with a bandage over one eye ; 
but I seldom see a woman with diseased eyes. 

Shops, which (I have before remarked) are merely 
small recesses, and most of which are poorly stocked, 
generally occupy the front part of the ground-floor of 
each house in a great street ; and the houses, with few 
exceptions, are two or three stories high. Their fronts, 
above the ground-floor, projecting about two feet, and 
the windows of wooden lattice-work projecting still fur- 
ther, render the streets gloomy, but shady and cool. On 
either side of the great streets are by-streets and quar- 
ters. 

A darb, or by-street, differs from a share' in being 
narrower, and not so long. In most cases, the darb is 
about six or eight feet wide, is a thoroughfare, and has, 
at each end, a gateway, with a large wooden door, which 
is always closed at night. Some darbs consist only of 
private houses; others contain shops. 

A harah, or quarter, is a particular district consisting 
of one or more streets or lanes. In general, a small 
quarter contains only private houses, and has but one 
entrance, with a wooden gate, which, like that of a darb, 
is closed at night. 

The sooks, or markets, are short streets, or short por- 
tions of streets, having shops on either side. In some of 
them, all the shops are occupied by persons of the same 
trade. Many sooks are covered overhead by matting, 
extended upon rafters, resembling those I observed at 
Alexandria, and some have a roof of wood. Most of the 
great thoroughfare-streets, and many by-streets, consist 
wholly, or for the most part, of a succession of sooks. 

Many of the khans of Cairo are similar to the sooks 
just described ; but in general, a khan consists of shops 
or magazines surrounding a square or oblong court. 

Khan El-Khaleelee, which is situated in the centre of 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 85 

that part which constituted the original city, a little to 
the east of the main street, and occupies the site of the 
cemetery of the Fawatim (the Khaleefehs* of Egypt), 
particularly deserves to be mentioned, being one of the 
chief marts of Cairo. It consists of a series of short 
lanes, with several turnings, and has four entrances from 
different quarters. The shops in this khan are mostly 
occupied by Turks, who deal in ready-made clothes and 
other articles of dress, together with arms of various 
kinds, the small prayer-carpets used by the Muslims, and 
other commodities. Public auctions are held there (as 
in many other markets in Cairo) twice in the week, on 
Monday and Thursday, on which occasions the khan is 
so crowded, that, in some parts, it is difficult for a pas- 
senger to push his way through. The sale begins early 
in the morning, and lasts till the noon-prayers. Clothes 
(old as well as new), shawls, arms, pipes, and a variety of 
other goods, are offered for sale in this manner by bro- 
kers, who carry them up and down the market. Several 
water-carriers, each with a goat-skin of water on his 
back, and a brass cup for the use of any one who would 
drink, attend on these occasions. Sherbet of raisins, and 
bread (in round, flat cakes), with other eatables, are also 
cried up and down the market; and on every auction 
day, several real or pretended idiots, with a distressing 
number of other beggars, frequent the kh&n. 

Another of the principal khans of Cairo is that called 
the Kamzawee, which is the principal market of the 
drapers and silk-mercers. 

There are few other khans in Cairo, or rather few- 
other buildings so designated ; but there are numerous 
buildings called wekalehs, which are of the same de- 
scription as most of the khans, a wekaleh generally con- 
sisting of magazines surrounding a square court. 

* The bones of the Khaleefehs were thrown on the 
mounds of rubbish outside the city. 
8 



86 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

The Wekalet el-Gellabeh (or Wekaleh of the slave- 
merchants), which is near the Khan EI-Khaleelee, has 
lately ceased to be the market for black slaves. It sur- 
rounds a spacious square court, in which were generally 
seen several groups of male and female slaves, besmeared 
with grease (of which they are very fond), and nearly in 
a state of nudity, excepting in winter, when they were 
better clad, and kept within doors. As there is a thorough- 
fare through this wekaleh, the slaves were much exposed 
to public view. The market for black slaves is now at 
Kaid Bey, which is a city of the dead, comprising a few 
old habitations for the living, between the metropolis and 
the neighbouring mountain. The slave-merchants were 
obliged to transfer their unfortunate captives to this ceme- 
tery in the desert in consequence of its having been re- 
presented to the government that epidemic diseases origi- 
nated in the slave-market in Cairo. I have not visited 
them, nor do I intend to do so ; for although slavery in 
the East is seen under the most favourable circumstances, 
I am not disposed to try my feelings when I can do no 
good. But I am told that they appear careless and happy ; 
for their greatest troubles are past, and they know that the 
slave of the Muslim fares even better than the free ser- 
vant. Some of the more valuable of the female slaves (as 
the white female slaves, to whom another wekaleh is ap- 
propriated) are only shown to those persons who express 
a desire to become purchasers. 

Having now described the streets and markets of Cairo, 
I may mention some particular quarters, &c. There are 
some parts which are inhabited exclusively by persons of 
the same religion or nation. .Many quarters are inhabited 
only by Muslims.* 

The quarter of the Jews (Harat el-Yahood) is situated 
in the western half of that portion of the metropolis which 

* About three-fourths of the population of Cairo are 
native Muslims. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 87 

composed the original city. It is very extensive, but 
close and dirty. Some of its streets, or rather lanes, are 
so narrow, that two persons can barely pass each other in 
them ; and in some parts, the soil has risen by the accu- 
mulation of rubbish a foot or more above the thresholds of 
the doors. 

The Greeks have two quarters, and the Copts have 
several, of which some are very extensive. The Franks 
inhabit not only what is called the quarter of the Franks 
(Harat el-Ifreng), but are interspersed throughout a con- 
siderable district, situated between the canal (which runs 
through the city) and the Ezbekeeyeh, of which latter I 
shall presently give you a description. 

The motley population of the part of the metropolis 
where most of the Franks reside, gives it the appearance 
of a quarter in a sea-port town, like Alexandria. Some of 
the Franks retain their national costume ; others adopt 
partly or wholly the Turkish dress. The chief thorough- 
fare street in this part of the town is the market, called 
the Mooskee, where are a few shops fitted up in the Euro- 
pean style, with glass fronts, and occupied by Franks, 
who deal in various European commodities. The Harat 
el-Ifreng is a short street leading out of the Mooskee, on 
the southern side. 

There are several vacant spaces of considerable extent 
in the interior of the metropolis, some of which, during 
the season of the inundation (the autumn), become lakes. 
The principal of these I must here mention. 

The great place which bears the name of the Ezbe- 
keeyeh is an irregular tract, the greatest length of which 
is nearly half a mile, and the greatest breadth about a 
third of a mile. It is a very favourite resort of mine, as 
my children are there secure from the many dangers 
which I fancy surround them in the crowded streets. 

On the south are two modern Turkish palaces, with 
gardens. On the west is a plain wall (part of the wall of 
the metropolis), and another Turkish palace, occupying 



88 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

the site of the mansion of the famous Memlook Bey EI- 
Elfee, which became the residence of Napoleon, and of 
Kleber, who was assassinated in the adjacent garden . On 
the north side is a Christian quarter, presenting a long 
row of lofty but neglected houses. During the season of 
the inundation, the Nile enters this extensive tract by a 
canal, and the place is partially inundated ; the water re- 
mains three or four months, after which the ground is 
sown. It was formerly, during the season of the inunda- 
tion, one extensive lake, but is now converted into some- 
thing like a garden, with an agreeable mixture of trees 
and water. I am told that the place has a much more 
pleasing appearance when entirely clothed with green, 
than it had when it was a lake ; and so I should imagine, 
for the water is very turbid. 

The Birket el-Feel (or Lake of the Elephant) also 
receives the water of the Nile, during the season of the 
inundation. Only a small part of it is open to the 
public. 

There are two small lakes in the western part of the 
metropolis, and several others in its vicinity. There are 
also several cemeteries in the eastern part of the town,* 
and many large gardens. These gardens are chiefly 
stocked with palm-trees, acacias, sycamores, oranges, 
limes, pomegranates, &c. Little arrangement is dis- 
played in them. They have generally one or more saki- 
yehs, which raise the water for their irrigation from 
wells. 

The canalf (El-Khaleeg) which traverses the metropolis 
is no ornament to it. In most parts of its course through 
the town, it is closely hemmed in on each side by the 
backs of houses; therefore it cannot be seen, excepting in 
a few places, by the passengers in the streets. Most of 
the bridges over it are moreover lined with shops on both 

* The principal cemeteries are without the town. 
t This canal is the ancient Amnis Trajanus. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 89 

sides, so that a person passing over cannot see that he is 
crossing- the canal. The water of the Nile is admitted 
into the canal in August, and the entrance is closed by a 
dam of earth not long after the river has begun to subside ; 
consequently, after three or four months, only stagnant 
puddles remain in it. While it continues open, boats 
enter it from the Nile, and pass through the whole length 
of the metropolis. 

Of the public buildings of Cairo, the most interesting 
certainly are the mosques, the more remarkable of which 
I have described to you. They are extremely picturesque, 
and exquisite taste is displayed in the variety and ele- 
gance of their mad'nehs or menarets : but the beauty ot 
these and other parts is, in my opinion, much injured by 
the prevalent fashion of daubing the alternate courses of 
stone with whitewash and dark-red ochre. The central part 
of a great mosque is, in general, a square court, which is 
surrounded by porticoes, the columns of which are, in 
few cases, uniform ; for they are mostly the spoils of an- 
cient temples, as are also the rich marble slabs, &c, 
which have been employed to decorate the pavements and 
the lower portions of the inner faces of the walls in many 
of the mosques. 

The domes are beautiful in form, and, in some in- 
stances, in their decorations. The pulpits, also, deserve 
to be mentioned for their elegant forms, and their curious 
intricate panel-work. The pulpit is placed with its back 
against the wall in which is the niche ; is surmounted by 
a small cupola, and has a flight of steps leading directly 
(never tortuously nor sideways) up to the little platform 
which is the station of the preacher. The congregation 
range themselves in parallel rows upon the matted or car- 
peted pavement, all facing that side of the mosque in 
which is the niche. These few general remarks will 
enable you better to understand the accounts of particular 
mosques, or to supply some deficiencies in my descrip- 
tions. 

8* 



90 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

Many of these buildings are doubtless monuments of 
sincere piety ; but not a few have certainly originated in 
ways far from creditable to their founders. I passed by 
one, a handsome building, respecting which I was told 
the following anecdote. The founder, on the first occa- 
sion of opening his mosque for the ceremonials of the 
Friday prayers, invited the chief 'Ulama to attend the 
service, and each of these congratulated him before the 
congregation, by reciting some tradition of the Prophet, 
or by some other words of an apposite nature, excepting 
one. This man the founder addressed, asking wherefore 
he was silent. " Hast thou nothing to say," he asked, 
44 befitting this occasion ?" The man thus invited readily 
answered, " Yes. If thou has built this mosque with 
money lawfully acquired, and with a good intention, 
know that God hath built for thee a mansion in Paradise, 
and great will be thy felicity. Bat if thou raised this 
temple by means of wealth unlawfully obtained, by money 
exacted from the poor by oppression and tyranny, know- 
that there is prepared for thee a place in hell, and evil 
will be the transit thither." The latter was the case ; and 
within a few hours after he had thus spoken, the only 
one among the company of 'Ulama who had dared to 
utter the language of truth on this occasion — to do which, 
indeed, required no little courage — suddenly died, a victim s 
as was well known, of poison. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 91 



LETTER X. 

Cairo, November, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

Being extremely anxious to see the interiors of the 
principal mosques, I was much vexed at finding that it 
had become very difficult for a Christian to obtain access 
to them. My brother might, perhaps, have taken us 
without risk, as he is generally mistaken for a Turk ; but 
had he done so, we might have been spoken to in some 
mosque in the Turkish language, in which language we 
could not have replied ; whereas, if we were conducted 
by a Caireen, no Turkish ladies were likely to address us, 
and if any Arab ladies should do so, our Arabic would 
only induce them to imagine us Turks. At length an 
old friend of my brother offered to take me if I would 
consent to ride after him in the streets and follow him in 
the mosques, and appear to be, for the time being, the 
chief lady of his hareem. 

It appeared to me that I should commit a breach in 
etiquette, by consenting thus to displace his wife (for he 
has but one) ; but finding he would not consent to take 
me on any other terms, and being bent on gratifying my 
curiosity, I agreed to submit to his arrangement, and the 
more readily because his wife expressed, with much 
politeness the pleasure she anticipated in contributing to 
my gratification. I had never seen my kind old con- 
ductor but once, and then through the hareem blinds, 
until the morning arrived for our expedition, when I and 
my sister-in-law mounted our donkeys, and submitted 
ourselves to his guidance. He rode first in the proces- 
sion ; I next ; then followed my sister-in-law ; and lastly, 



92 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

his wife. We endeavoured on several occasions to induce 
her to take a more distinguished place, but in vain, and 
therefore came to the conclusion that she must be infi- 
nitely better acquainted with Eastern manners than cur- 
selves, and that it would be safer and better not to oppose 
her. I use the expression safer, because I was fully 
aware that if we appeared in any respect un- eastern, or 
rather if we did not look like Muslims, we should incur 
the risk of being turned ^out of any mosque we might 
enter, and loaded with reproach and insult. 

With (I confess) nervous feelings, we stopped at one 
of the entrances of the mosque of the Hasaneyn, which 
is generally esteemed the most sacred in Cairo. It 
was crowded with ladies who were paying their weekly 
visit to the tomb of El-Hoseyn. 

I felt that I had rather have been initiated before 
entering the most sacred mosque, and thought I had been 
too bold. Never did a submissive wife walk more meekly 
after her husband than I followed the steps of my governor 
pro tempore. I gained, however, some confidence by re- 
marking the authoritative air he assumed as soon as he 
had passed the threshold of the mosque : indeed he played 
his part admirably. 

At the threshold all persons remove their shoes, or 
slippers, the ladies walking, in the mosque, in the yellow 
morocco socks, or boots, which I have before described to 
you ; and here I must remark on the scrupulous attention 
which is paid to cleanliness; for the pale yellow morocco 
is scarcely injured by a whole day spent in perambulating 
these Muslin sanctuaries. The men generally carry the 
shoes in the left hand through the mosque, placed sole to 
sole, and some ladies carry theirs, but we, like many 
others, preferred leaving them with our servants, for the 
walking-dress in itself is so exceedingly cumbrous, and 
requires so much management, that two hands are scarcely 
sufficient to preserve its proper arrangement. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 93 

The mosque of the Hasaneyn,* which is situated to the 
north of the Azhar, and not far distant, was founded in the 
year of the Flight 549 (a.d. 1154-5) ; but has been more 
than once rebuilt. The present building was erected 
about 70 years ago. The fore part consists of a hand- 
some hall, or portico, the roof of which is supported by 
numerous marble columns, and the pavement covered 
with carpets. Passing through this hall, I found myself 
in that holy place under which the head of the martyr 
El-Hoseyn is said to be buried deep below the pavement. 
It is a lofty square saloon, surmounted by a dome. Over 
the spot where the sacred relic is buried, is an oblong 
monument, covered with green silk, with a worked in- 
scription around it. This is enclosed within a high screen 
of bronze, of open work ; around the upper part of which 
are suspended several specimens of curious and elegant 
writing. The whole scene was most imposing. The 
pavements are exquisite ; some of virgin-marble, pure and 
bright with cleanliness, some delicately inlaid : and the 
whole appearance is so striking, that I am persuaded if a 
stranger were to visit the shrine of El-Hoseyn alone, he 
would never believe that El-Islam is on the wane. 

All the visiters whom I saw passed round the tomb, 
walking from left to right, touching each corner of the 
screen with the right hand, and then applying that hand 
to their lips and forehead, reciting at the same time, but 
inaudibly, the Fat'hah (or opening chapter of the Kuran), 
a ceremony also observed on visiting other tombs. Many 
were most devoutly praying, and one woman kissed the 
screen with a fervour of devotion which interested while 
it grieved me. For myself, however, I can never think 
of the shrine of El-Hoseyn without being deeply affected 
by reflecting upon the pathetic history of that amiable 

* By the Hasaneyn are meant Hasan and Hoseyn, the 
grandsons of the Prophet. 



94 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

man, in whom were combined, in an eminent degree so 
many of the highest Christian virtues. 

We next bent our steps to El-Zame el-Azhar (or the 
splendid mosque*), which is situated, as I have said, to the 
south of the Hasaneyn, and not far distant, midway 
between the principal street of the city and the gate 
called Bab El-Ghureiyib. It is the principal mosque of 
Cairo, and the University of the East; and is also the 
first, with regard to the period of its foundation, of all the 
mosques of the city ; but it has been so often repaired, 
and so much enlarged, that it is difficult to ascertain 
exactly how much of the original structure we see in the 
present state of the mosque. It was founded about nine 
months after the first wall of the city, in the year of the 
Flight 359 (a. d. 969-70). Though occupying a space 
about three hundred feet square, it makes but little show 
externally ; for it is so surrounded by houses, that only 
its entrances and mad'nehs can be seen from the streets. 
It has two grand gates, and four minor entrances. Each 
of the two former has two doors, and a school-room above, 
open at the front and back. Every one takes off his 
shoes before he passes the threshold of the gate, although 
if he enter the mosque by the principal gate, he has to 
cross a spacious court before he arrives at the place of 
prayer. This custom is observed in every mosque. The 
principal gate is in the centre of the front of the mosque: 
it is the nearest to the main street of the city. Imme- 
diately within this gate are two small mosques ; one on 
either hand. Passing between these, we enter the great 
court of the Azhar, which is paved with stone, and sur- 
rounded by porticoes. The principal portico is that which 
is opposite this entrance : those on the other three sides 
of the court are divided into a number of riwaks or 

* Some travellers have strangely misinterpreted the 
name of this building, calling it the "mosque of flowers." 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 95 

apartments for the accommodation of the numerous 
students who resort to this celebrated university from 
various and remote countries of Africa, Asia, and Europe, 
as well as from different parts of Egypt. 

These persons, being mostly in indigent circumstances, 
are supported by the funds of the mosque ; each receiving 
a certain quantity of bread and soup at noon, and in the 
evening. Many blind paupers are also supported here, 
and we were much affected by seeing some bent with 
age, slowly walking through the avenues of columns, 
knowing from habit every turn and every passage, and 
looking like the patriarchs of the assembled multitude. 
The riwaks are separated from the court, and from each 
other, by partitions of wood, which unite the columns or 
pillars. Those on the side in which is the principal 
entrance are very small, there being only one row of 
columns on this side ; but those on the right and left 
are spacious halls containining several rows of columns. 
There are also some above the ground-floor. Each 
riwak is for the natives of a particular country, or of a 
particular province in Egypt; the Egyptian students 
being of course more numerous than those of any other 
nation. 

In going the round of these apartments, after passing 
successively among natives of different divisions of Egypt, 
we find ourselves in the company of people of Mekkeh 
and El-Medeeneh ; then in the midst of Syrians ; in 
another minute among Muslims of central Africa ; next 
amidst Maghar'beh (or natives of northern Africa, west 
of Egypt) ; then, with European and Asiatic Turks ; and 
quitting these, we are introduced to Persians, and Mus- 
lims of India: we may almost fancy ourselves trans- 
ported through their respective countries. No sight in 
Cairo interested me more than the interior of the Azhar ; 
and the many and great obstacles which present them- 
selves when a Christian, and more especially a Christian 
lady, desires to obtain admission into this celebrated 



96 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

mosque, make me proud of having enjoyed the privilege 
of walking leisurely through its extensive porticoes, and 
observing its heterogeneous students engaged in listening 
to the lectures of their professors. 

To the left of the great court is a smaller one, con- 
taining the great tank at which the ablution preparatory 
to prayer is performed by all those who have not done it 
before entering the mosque. The great portico is closed 
by partitions of wood between a row of square pillars, or 
piers, behind the front row of columns. The partition of 
the central archway has a wide door ; and some of the 
other partitions have smaller doors. The great portico is 
very spacious ; containing eight rows of small marble 
columns, arranged parallel with the front. That part 
beyond the fifth row of columns was added by the builder 
of one of the grand gates, about 70 years ago. The walls 
are whitewashed : the niche and pulpit are very plain ; 
and simplicity is the prevailing character of the whole 
of the interior of the great portico. The pavement is 
covered with mats; and a few small carpets are seen 
here and there. 

A person of rank or wealth is generally accompanied 
by a servant bearing a seggadeh (or small prayer carpet, 
about the size of a hearth-rug), upon which he prays. 
During the noon-prayers of the congregation on Friday, 
the worshippers are very numerous ; and, arranged in 
parallel rows, they sit upon the matting. 

Different scenes at other times are presented in the 
great portico of the Azhar. We saw many lecturers 
addressing their circles of attentive listeners, or reading 
to them commentaries on the Kuran. In most cases 
these lecturers were leaning against a pillar, and I under- 
stand that in general each has his respective column, 
where his pupils regularly attend him, sitting in the form 
of a circle on the matted floor. Some persons take their 
meals in the Azhar, and many houseless paupers pass the 
night there, for this mosque is left open at all hours. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 97 

Such customs are not altogether in accordance with the 
sanctity of the place ; but peculiarly illustrative of the 
simplicity of Eastern manners. 

We next visited the fine mosque of Mohammad Bey, 
founded in the year of the Flight 1187 (a. d. 1773-4), 
adjacent to the Azhar. This is remarkable as a very 
noble structure, of the old style, erected at a late period. 

The great mosque of that impious impostor the Kha- 
leefeh El-Hakim (who professed to be a prophet, and 
afterwards to be God incarnate) derives an interest from 
the name it bears, and from its antiquity. It is situated 
immediately within that part of the northern wall of the 
city which connects the Bab en-Nasr and Bab el-Futooh. 
This mosque was completed in the reign of El-Hakim, in 
the year of the Flight 403 (a.d. 1012-13); but was founded 
by his predecessor. It is now in a state of ruin, and no 
longer used as a place of worship. It occupies a space 
about 400 feet square, and consists of arcades surrounding 
a square court. 



LETTER XL 

November, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

I will continue the subject I left incomplete in my last. 
Several of the finest mosques in Cairo front the main street 
of the city. In proceeding along this street from north to 
south, the first mosque that particularly attracts notice is 
the Barkookeeyeh, on the right side. 

This is a collegiate mosque, and was founded in the 
year of the Flight 786 (a. d. 1384-5). It has a fine dome, 
and a lofty and elegant mad'neh ; and the interior is par- 
ticularly handsome, though in a lamentable state of decay. 
9 



98 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

A little beyond this, on the same side of the street, are 
the tomb, mosque, and hospital of the Sultan Kala-oon, 
composing one united building. The tomb and mosque 
form the front part ; the former is to the right of the latter ; 
and a passage, which is the general entrance, leads be- 
tween them to the hospital (Maristan.*) These three 
united buildings were founded in the year of the Flight 
683 (a. d. 1284-5). The tomb has a very large mad'neh, 
and is a noble edifice ; its front is coloured red and white, 
in squares : the interior is very magnificent. The mosque 
is not remarkable. The hospital contains two small ob- 
long courts, surrounded by small cells, in which mad per- 
sons are confined and chained ; men in one court, and 
women in the other. Though these wretched beings are 
provided for by the funds of the establishment, it is the 
custom to take them food, and they ask for it in a manner 
which is most affecting. But here I must make one con- 
solatory remark : the poor creatures have certainly more 
than enough to eat, for none seemed hungry, and I ob- 
served that one of the men threw down a piece of bread 
which was given to him. 

Judging by my own anxiety to ascertain the real state 
of the poor lunatics in the Maristan, I cannot describe to 
you their condition too minutely. Our ears were assailed 
by the most discordant yells as soon as we entered the 
passage leading to the cells. We were first conducted into 
the court appropriated to the men, one of our servants 
attending us with the provisions. It is surrounded by 
small cells, in which they are separately confined, and 
each cell has a small grated window, through which the 
poor prisoner's chain is fastened to the exterior. Here 
seemed exhibited every description of insanity. In many 
cells were those who suffered from melancholy madness ; 
in one only I saw a cheerful maniac, and he was amusing 
some visiters exceedingly by his jocose remarks. Almost 

* Vulgarly pronounced Muristan. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 99 

all stretched out their arms as far as they could reach, 
asking for bread, and one poor soul especially interested 
me by the melancholy tone of his supplications. Their 
outstretched arms rendered it frequently dangerous to pass 
their cells, for there is a railing in the midst of the court, 
surrounding an oblong space, which I imagine has been 
a tank, but which is now filled with stones ; and this rail- 
ing so confines the space appropriated to visiters, that one 
of our party was cautioned by the superintendent when 
she was not aware she was in arms' length of the lunatics. 

I trust that the mildness and gentleness of manner we 
observed in the keepers were not assumed for the time, 
and I think they were not, for the lunatics did not appear 
to fear them. The raving maniacs were strongly chained, 
and wearing each a collar and handcuffs. One poor 
creature endeavoured, by constantly shaking his chain, to 
attract pity and attention. They look unlike human 
beings ; and the manner of their confinement, and the 
barren wretchedness of their cells, contributed to render 
the scene more like a menagerie than any thing else. It 
is true that this climate lessens the requirements of every 
grade in society, so that the poor generally sleep upon the 
bare ground, or upon thin mats ; but it is perfectly barba- 
rous to keep these wretched maniacs without any thing 
but the naked floor on which to rest themselves, weary, as 
they must be, by constant excitement. 

I turned sick at heart from these abodes of wretched, 
ness, and was led towards the court of the women. Little 
did I expect that scenes infinitely more sad awaited me. 
No man being permitted to enter the part of the building 
appropriated to the women, the person who had hitherto 
attended us gave the provision we had brought into the 
hand of the chief of the female keepers. The maniacs sit 
within the doors of open cells surrounding their court, and 
there is no appearance of their being confined. I shrunk 
as I passed the two first, expecting they would rush out ; 
but being assured that they were chained, I proceeded to 



100 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

look into the cells, one by one. The first lunatic I re- 
marked particularly, was an old and apparently blind wo- 
man, who was an object of peculiar interest, from the 
expression of settled sadness in her countenance. Nothing 
seemed to move her. A screaming raving maniac was 
confined in a cell nearly opposite to hers ; but either from 
habit, or the contemplation of her own real and imagined 
sorrows, the confusion seemed by her perfectly unheeded. 
The cell next to hers presented to my view a young girl, 
about sixteen or seventeen years of age, in a perfect state 
of nudity ; she sat in a crouching attitude, in statue-like 
stillness, and in the gloom of her prison she looked like 
stone. The next poor creature was also young, but older 
than the preceding, and she merely raised her jet-black 
eyes and looked at us through her dishevelled hair, not 
wildly, but calmly and vacantly. She, too, had no article 
of clothing. I was ill-prepared for the sight of such 
misery, and I hastily passed the poor, squalid, emaciated, 
raving maniacs, all without any covering; and was leaving 
the court, when I heard a voice exclaiming, in a melan- 
choly tone of supplication, " Stay, O my mistress, give me 
five paras for tobacco before you go." I turned, and the 
entreaty was repeated by a nice-looking old woman, who 
was very grateful when I assured her she should have 
what she required. She was clothed, and sitting almost 
behind the entrance of her cell, and seemed on the look- 
out for presents. The woman who was the superintendent 
gave her the trifle for me, and I hope she was permitted 
to spend it as she desired. She and the first I saw were 
the only two who were not perfect pictures of misery. If 
insanity, the most severe of human woes, calls for our 
tenderest sympathy, the condition of these wretched luna- 
tics in Cairo cries aloud for our deepest commiseration. 
How their situation can be mended, I know not ; the go- 
vernment alone can interfere, and the government does not. 
We were informed that the establishment was endowed 
with remarkable liberality. It is, and always has been, 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 101 

a hospital for the sick, as well as a place of confinement 
for the insane ; and originally, for the entertainment of 
those patients who were troubled with restlessness, a band 
of musicians and a number of story-tellers were in con- 
stant attendance. 

The friend who conducted us related some anecdotes of 
the poor maniacs, to which I listened with interest. The 
first, I am told, has been related by some European tra- 
veller, in a work descriptive of the Egyptians ; but as I do 
not know by whom, and you may not have read or heard 
it, I will give you that as well as the others. 

A butcher, who had been confined some time in the 
Maristan, conceived an excessive hatred for a Delee (a 
Turkish trooper), one of his fellow-prisoners. He received 
his provision of food from his family ; and he induced his 
wife one day, on the occasion of her taking him his din- 
ner, to conceal, in the basket of food, the instruments he 
had used in his trade, viz., a cleaver, a knife, and a pair 
of hooks. I must here observe, that those lunatics who 
do not appear dangerous have lighter chains than others, 
and the chains of the person in question were of this de- 
scription. When he had taken his meal, he proceeded to 
liberate himself; and as the cells communicated by the 
back, he soon reached that of his nearest neighbour, who, 
delighted to see him free, exclaimed, " How is this ? Who 
cut your chains ?" « I did," replied the first, " and here 
are my implements." " Excellent," rejoined the other, 
" cut mine too." "Certainly," said he ; and he proceeded 
to liberate not only one, but two, three, and four of his 
fellow-prisoners. Now follows the tragical part of the 
story. No keepers were present — the man who possessed 
the cleaver attacked the poor Delee, chained and unarmed 
as he was ; slaughtered him ; and after dividing his body, 
hung it on the hooks within the window of the cell, and 
believed himself to be — w T hat he was — a butcher. 

In a few minutes the liberated lunatics became uproari- 
ous ; and one of them growing alarmed, forced open the 
9* 



102 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

door by which the keepers usually entered, found one of 
them, and gave the alarm. The keeper instantly pro- 
ceeded to the cell, and seeing the body of the murdered 
man, exclaimed : 

" What, have 3^011 succeeded in killing that Delee ? he 
was the plague of my life." " I have," answered the de- 
linquent ; " and here he hangs for sale." " Most excel- 
lent," replied the keeper, " but do not let him hang here ; 
it will disgrace us : let us bury him." "Where ?" asked 
the maniac, still holding his cleaver in his hand. u Here 
in the cell," replied the other, " and then the fact can never 
be discovered." In an instant he threw down his cleaver, 
and began to dig busily with his hands. In the mean 
time, the keeper entered by the back of the cell, and 
throwing a collar over his neck, instantly chained him, 
and so finished this tragedy. 

Some time since, the brother of the person who gave 
the following anecdote, on the occasion of his visiting the 
Maristan, was accosted by one of the maniacs by name, 
and greeted him with the usual salutations, followed by a 
melancholy entreaty that he would deliver him from that 
place. On examining him particularly, he found him to 
be an old friend ; and he was distressed by his entreaties 
to procure for him his liberation, and perplexed what to 
do. The lunatic assured him he was not insane, and at 
length the visiter resolved on applying for his release. 
Accordingly he addressed himself to the head-keeper on 
the subject, stated that he was much surprised by the 
conversation of the patient, and concluded by requesting 
his liberation. The keeper answered that he did appear 
sane at that time, but that perhaps in an hour he might 
be raving. 

The visiter, by no means satisfied by the reply of the 
keeper, and overcome by the rational arguments of the 
lunatic, urged his request, and at length he consented, 
saying, u Well, you can try him." This being arranged, 
in a short time the two friends set out together ; and, en- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 103 

gaged in conversation, they passed along the street, when 
suddenly, the maniac seized the other by the throat, ex- 
claiming, " Help, O Muslims ! here is a madman escaped 
from the Maristan." He wisely suffered himself to be 
dragged back in no gentle manner to the very cell whence 
he had released the poor lunatic ; and the latter, on en- 
tering, called loudly for a collar and chain for a maniac 
he had found in the street, escaped from the Maristan. 
The keeper immediately brought the collar and chain ; 
and while pretending to obey his orders, slipped it over 
his neck, and secured him in his former quarters, I need 
not say, to the satisfaction of his would-be deliverer. 

Our conductor also related, that some years ago, a ma- 
niac, having escaped from his cell in the Maristan, when 
the keepers had retired for the night, ascended the lofty 
mad'neh of the adjoining sepulchral mosque, the tomb of 
the Sultan Kala'oon. Finding there, in the gallery, a 
Mueddin, chanting one of the night-calls, uttering, with 
the utmost power of his voice, the exclamation " Ya 
Rabb !" (O Lord !) he seized him by the neck. The ter- 
rified Mueddin cried out, " I seek God's protection from 
the accursed devil ! God is most great !" — " I am not a 
devil," said the madman, " to be destroyed by the words, 
4 God is most great !' " (Here I should tell you that these 
words arc commonly believed to have the effect here as- 
cribed to them, that of destroying a devil.) " Then what 
art thou ?" said the Mueddin. " I am a madman," an- 
swered the other, " escaped from the Maristan." " O 
welcome !" rejoined the Mueddin : " praise be to God for 
thy safety ! come, sit down, and amuse me with thy con- 
versation." So the madman thus began : " Why do you 
call out so loud, * O Lord !' Do you not know that God 
can hear you as well if you speak low ?" " True," 
said the other, " but I call that men may also hear." 
" Sing," rejoined the lunatic ; that will please me." And 
upon this, the other commenced a kind of chant, with the 
ridiculous nature of which he so astonished some servants 



104 THE ENGLISH WOMAN IN EGYPT. 

of the Maristan, who, as usual, were sitting- up in a coffee- 
shop below, that they suspected some strange event had 
happened, and hastily coming- up, secured the madman. 

After what I have told you of the miserable creatures 
at present confined in the Maristan, I am very happy to 
add, that their condition will, I believe, in a few weeks, be 
greatly ameliorated. They are, I have since heard, to be 
removed to an hospital, where they will be under the 
superintendence of a celebrated French surgeon, Clot 
Bey. 

I now return to the subject of the mosques. 

Proceeding still southwards along the main street, we 
arrived at a fine mosque, called the Ashrafeeyeh, on the 
right. It was built by the Sultan El-Ashraf Barsabay, 
consequently between the years 825-41 (a.d. 1421 et seq.). 
Frequently criminals are hanged against one of the grated 
windows of this mosque ; as the street before it is gene- 
rally very much crowded with passengers. 

Still proceeding along the main street, through that 
part of it called the Ghoreeych (which is a large bazar, or 
market), we arrive at the two fine mosques of the Sultan 
El-Ghoree, facing each other, one on each side of the 
street, and having a roof of wood extending from one to 
the other. They were both completed in the year of the 
Flight 909 (a.d. 1503-4). That on the left, El-Ghoree 
designed as his tomb ; but he was not buried in it. 

Arriving at the southernmost part of the main street, 
we have on our right the great mosque of the Sultan El- 
Mu-eiyad, which was founded in the year of the Flight 
819 (a.d. 1416-17). It surrounds a spacious square court, 
and contains the remains of its royal founder, and of 
some of his family. It has a noble dome, and a fine lofty 
entrance-porch at the right extremity of the front. Its 
two great mad'nehs, which rise from the tow T ers of the 
gate called Bab Zuweyleh (the southern gate of that por- 
tion of the metropolis which constituted the old city). 

Of the mosques in the suburban districts of the metro- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 105 

polis, the most remarkable are those of the Sultan Hasan 
and of Ibn-Tooloon, or, as the name is commonly pro- 
nounced, Teyloon. 

The great mosque of the Sultan Hasan, which is situ- 
ated near the citadel, and is the most lofty of the edifices of 
Cairo, was founded in the year of the Flight 757 (a.u. 1356). 
It is a very noble pile ; but it has some irregularities 
which are displeasing to the eye ; as, for instance, the 
disparity of its two mad'nehs. The great mad'neh is 
nearly three hundred feet in height, measured from the 
ground. At the right extremity of the northeast side of 
the mosque is a very fine lofty entrance-porch. From this, 
a zigzag passage conducts us to a square hypsethral hall, 
or court, in the centre of which is a tank, and near this, a 
reservoir with spouts, for the performance of ablution ; 
each crowned with a cupola. On each of the four sides 
of the court is a hall with an arched roof and open front. 
That opposite the entrance is the largest, and is the prin- 
cipal place of worship. Its arched roof is about seventy 
feet in width. It is constructed of brick and plastered 
(as are the other three arches), and numerous small glass 
lamps, and two lanterns of bronze, are suspended from it. 
The lower part of the end wall is lined with coloured 
marbles. Beyond it is a square saloon, over which is the 
great dome, and in the centre of this saloon is the tomb 
of the royal founder. Most of the decorations of this 
mosque are very elaborate and elegant, but the building, 
in many parts, needs repair. 

The great mosque of Ibn-Tooloon (or, as it is more 
commonly called, Game' Teyloon), situated in the south- 
ern part of the metropolis, is a very interesting building. 
It was founded in the year of the Flight 263 (a.d. 876-7), 
and was the principal mosque of the city El-Katae, a city 
nearly a century older than El-Kahireh. The space 
which it occupies is about 400 feet square. It is con- 
structed of brick, covered with plaster, and consists of ar- 
cades surrounding a square court ; in the centre of which 



106 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

is a tank for ablution, under a square stone building-, sur- 
mounted by a dome. The arches in this mosque are 
slightly pointed : this is very remarkable, as it proves, as 
the mosque was constructed a.d. 876-7, and has never 
been rebuilt, that the Eastern pointed arch is more 
ancient than the Gothic. This remark I borrow from 
my brother's manuscript notes. A great mad'neh, with 
winding stairs round its exterior, stands on the northwest 
side of the mosque ; with which it is only connected by 
an arched gateway. The whole of this great mosque is 
in a sad state of decay ; and not even kept decently clean, 
excepting where the mats are spread. It is the most an- 
cient Arabian building, excepting the Nilometer of Er- 
Rodah (which is about 12 years older), now existing in 
Egypt : for the mosque of 'Ami*, though founded more 
than two centuries before, has often been rebuilt. 

In the neighbourhood of the mosque above described is 
a large ruined castle or palace, called Kal'at el-Kebsh 
(or the Castle of the Ram), occupying, and partly sur- 
rounding, an extensive rocky eminence. It was built in 
the middle of the seventh century after the Flight (or the 
thirteenth of our era). Its interior is occupied by modern 
buildings. 

The mosques of the seyyideh Zeyneb, the seyyideh Se- 
keeneh, and the seyyideh Nefeeseh (the first and second 
situated in the southern part of the metropolis, and the 
third in a small southern suburb without the gates) are 
highly venerated, but not very remarkable buildings. 
There are many other mosques in Cairo well worthy of 
examination ; but those which I have mentioned are the 
most distinguished. 

I have been surprised at my having visited the most 
sacred of the mosques of Cairo without exciting the 
smallest suspicion of my being a Christian. A few days 
ago a party of Englishmen were refused admission into 
the Hasaneyn. They were conducted by a janissary of 
the Pasha, and he was exceedingly enraged against the 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. . 107 

officers of the mosque. They seized him, however, and 
drew him into the mosque, and closing the doors and 
windows, detained him, shutting- out his party ; but the 
interpreter of the Englishmen, being a Muslim, obtained 
admission by a back door, and liberated the prisoner. 

There are, in Cairo, many public buildings, besides the 
mosques, which attract attention. Among these are se- 
veral Tekeeyehs, or convents for Darweeshes and others, 
mostly built by Turkish Pashas, for the benefit of their 
countrymen. Some of these are very handsome struc- 
tures. 

Many of the Sebeels (or public fountains) are also re- 
markable buildings. The general style of a large sebeel 
may be thus described. The principal part of the front is 
of a semicircular form, with three windows of brass 
grating. Within each window is a trough of water ; and 
when any one would drink, he puts his hand through one 
of the lowest apertures of the grating, and dips in the 
trough a brass mug, which is chained to one of the bars. 
Above the windows is a wide coping of wood. Over this 
part of the building is a public school-room, with an open 
front, formed of pillars and arches ; and at the top is 
another wide coping of wood. Some of these buildings 
are partly constructed of alternate courses of black and 
white marble. 

H6ds, or watering-places for beasts of burden, are also 
very numerous in Cairo. The trough is of stone, and 
generally in an arched recess, over which is a public 
school-room. 

There are, as my brother lias remarked, about sixty or 
seventy Hammams, or public baths, in Cairo. Some are 
exclusively for men, some only for women : others, for 
men in the morning, and for women in the afternoon. 
When the bath is appropriated to women, a piece of 
white cotton is hung over the door. The apartments are 
paved with marble, have fountains and tanks, and are 



108 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

surmounted by cupolas, pierced with small round holes 
for the admission of light. 

The last of the buildings I shall mention are the Kah- 
wehs, or coffee-shops, of which Cairo contains above a 
thousand. Only coffee is supplied at these ; the persons 
who frequent them taking their own pipes and tobacco. 



LETTER XII. 

December, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

From the city, you must now accompany me, in imagi- 
nation, to the citadel. If you could do so in reality, you 
would be amply repaid for the trouble of ascending its 
steep acclivities ; not by the sight of any very remarkable 
object within its walls, but by gazing on one of the most 
striking and interesting views in the Eastern world. The 
citadel (El-Kat'ah) is situated at the southeastern extre- 
mity of the metropolis, upon an extensive, flat-topped, 
rocky eminence, about 250 feet above the level of the 
plain, and near the point of Mount Mukattam, which 
completely commands it. It was founded by Salah-ed- 
Deen (the famous Saladin), in the year of the Flight 572 
(a.d. 1176-7) ; but not finished till 604 ; since which latter 
period it has been the usual residence of the sultans and 
governors of Egypt. Before it is a spacious square, 
called the Rumeyleh, where a market is held, and where 
conjurers, musicians, and storytellers are often seen, each 
surrounded by a ring of idlers. 

The Bab el-'Azab is the principal gate of the citadel. 
Within this is a steep and narrow road, partly cut through 
the rock ; so steep, that in some parts steps are cut to 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 109 

render the ascent and descent less difficult than it would 
otherwise be for the horses and camels, &c. This con- 
fined road was the chief scene of the massacre of the 
Memlooks in the year 1811. I may perhaps have some- 
thing to say, on a future occasion, respecting that 
tragedy. 

A great part of the interior of the citadel is obstructed 
by ruins and rubbish, and there are many dwelling- 
houses and some shops within it. The most remarkable 
monument that it contains is a great mosque, built by 
the Sultan Ibn-Kala'-oon, in the early part of the eighth 
century after the Flight (or the fourteenth of our era). 
It is in a ruinous state, and no longer used as a place of 
worship. It consists of porticoes, surrounding a square 
court. 

On the northwest of this mosque, stood, about twelve 
or thirteen years ago, a noble ruin — an old palace, com- 
monly called Kasr Yoosuf, or Deewan Yoosuf, and be- 
lieved to have been the palace of Yoosuf Salah-ed-Deen ; 
but erroneously. European travellers adopted the same 
opinion, and called it " Joseph's Hall." My brother in- 
forms me, on the authority of El-Makreezee, that this 
noble structure was built by the prince before-mentioned.* 
Huge ancient columns of granite were employed in its 
construction ; their capitals of various kinds, and ill- 
wrought, but the shafts very fine. It had a large dome, 
which had fallen some time before the ruin was taken 
down. On entering it was observed, in the centre of the 
southeastern side, a niche, marking the direction of 
Mekkeh, like that of a mosque, which in other respects 
this building did not much resemble. Both within and 
without are remains of Arabic inscriptions, in large 
letters of wood ; but of which many had fallen long before 
its demolition. 

A little to the west of the site of the old palace were 

* The Sultan Ibn-Kala'-oon. 
10 



110 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

the remains of a very massive building, called " the house 
of Yoosuf Salah-ed-Deen," partly on the brow, and partly 
on the declivity of the hill. From this spot, on the edge 
of the hill, we have a most remarkable view of the me- 
tropolis and its environs. Its numerous mad'nehs and 
domes, its flat-topped houses, with the sloping sheds 
which serve as ventilators, and a few palms and other 
trees among the houses, give it an appearance quite un- 
like that of any European city. Beyond the metropolis 
we see the Nile, intersecting a verdant plain ; with the 
towns of Boolak, Masr Ateekah, and El-Geezeh ; on the 
south, the aqueduct, and the mounds of rubbish which 
occupy the site of El-Fustat, and in the distance, all the 
pyramids of Memphis, and the palm-groves on the site of 
that city. On the north of the metropolis are seen the 
plains of Heliopolis and Goshen. No one with a spark 
of feeling can look unmoved on such a prospect : the 
physical sight has enough to charm it ; but the deepest 
interest is felt while, in gazing on this scene, the mind's 
eye runs rapidly over the historic pages of the Word of 
God. The oppression and the deliverance of the tribes of 
Israel, and the miracles which marked that deliverance, 
all these events are overwhelmingly present to the me- 
mory, while looking on the scenes they have consecrated 
— their subsequent prosperity, disobedience, and punish- 
ment, all pass in melancholy review. O ! that the power 
of Almighty God may be present with those who labour 
for their restoration, and " may they at length," as Mr. 
Wilberforce beautifully expresses his petition on their 
behalf, "may they at length acknowledge their long- 
neglected Saviour." Well have they been described as 
" tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast." Often 
" houseless, homeless, and proscribed," they endure every 
indignity and become inured to every hardship : but the 
eye of God is still upon them, an*d his ear is open to their 
prayers. How true it is, that hitherto "they will not 
turn to Him that they might receive mercy," but they 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. Ill 

are not forsaken ; and while we hear with thankfulness 
of the zeal of many from among their own people in the 
cause of Christianity, we trust that the day is not far off 
when, rather than 

" Weep for those who wept by Babel's stream, 
Whose shrines are desolate, whose land a dream," 

we shall rejoice in the prospect of that blessed time when 
the Lord God shall " give unto them beauty for ashes, the 
oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the 
spirit of heaviness ;" when all nations of the earth shall 
" rejoice with Jerusalem, and be delighted with the abun- 
dance of her glory." 

Adjacent to the Kasr Yoosuf is a very large mosque, 
not yet completed ; a costly structure, with a profusion of 
alabaster columns ; but of a mixed style of architecture, 
which I cannot much admire, though the effect of the 
building, when it is finished, will certainly be grand. I 
need hardly add, that the founder of this sumptuous edi- 
fice is Mohammad 'Alee, by whose name it is to be 
called. 

The famous well of Yoosuf Salah-ed-Deen, so called 
because it was excavated in the reign of that Sultan, is 
near the southern angle of the old great mosque. It is 
entirely cut in the calcareous rock, and consists of two 
rectangular shafts, one below the other ; with a winding 
stairway round each to the bottom. In descending the 
first shaft my heart and limbs failed me, and I contented 
myself with seeing as much as I could through the large 
apertures between the stairs and the well. Our guide 
bore a most picturesque aspect ; she was a young girl, 
and if I might judge by her beautiful dark eyes, her 
countenance must have been lovely. She held a lighted 
taper in each hand, and stepped backwards before us, 
down the dark and (in my opinion) dangerous descent. 
Accustomed to the winding way, she continued fearlessly 



112 THE ENGLISHWOMAN in EGYPT. 

through the gloom, while her light and graceful figure 
receded slowly, and the glimmer of her tapers shone on 
the damp rock on either side, and made the darkness 
seem intense. 

The upper shaft is about 155 feet deep, and the lower 
about 1 25 ; therefore the whole depth of the well is about 
280 feet. The water, which is rather brackish, is raised 
by a sakiyeh at the top of each shaft. 

There are several large edifices in the modern Turkish 
style, worthy in this country of being called palaces, in 
the southern quarter of the citadel, and in the quarter of 
the Janisaries, which did not form a part of the old cita- 
del, and which lies to the east of the latter. Some of the 
walls, together with many houses, on the northern slope 
of the hill, were overthrown by the explosion of a maga- 
zine of powder, in the year 1824. On the western slope 
of the hill is an arsenal, with a cannon-foundry, &c. 

Mount Mukattam overlooks both the town and citadel 
of Cairo, and is composed of a yellowish calcareous rock, 
abounding with testaceous fossils : it is entirely destitute 
of verdure. Upon its flat summit, a strong fort has been 
erected, with a steep causeway, upon high narrow arches 
ascending to it. On each side of this causeway, the rock 
has been extensively quarried. On the western side of 
the mountain are many ancient sepulchral grottoes ; but 
they are difficult of access, and I do not propose visiting 
them. My brother has seen them, and he could find no 
traces of hieroglyphics, or other decorations, in any of 
them. 

On the north of the metropolis are many gardens, and, 
in the season of the inundation, many lakes, in one of 
which (Birket er Ratlee) abundance of lotus plants are 
seen in blossom in the month of September. In the same 
tract is a ruined mosque, which was founded by Ez-Zahir 
Beyburs, in the year of the Flight 665 (a. d. 1266-7). 
The French converted it into a fort. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 113 

Opposite the Bab en-Nasr is a large cemetery, occupy- 
ing- a desert tract ; and here is the tomb of the lamented 
Burckhardt. 

The great Eastern cemetery, in the sandy waste be- 
tween the metropolis and the mountain, contains the 
tombs of many of the Memlook Sultans. Some of these 
mausolea (which have been erroneously regarded by some 
travellers as the tombs of the Khaleefehs) are very noble 
buildings ; particularly those of the Sultans Barkook,* 
and Kaid-Bey,-f or Kaitbey. None of the tombs of the 
Khaleefehs of Egypt now exist : Khan el-Khaleelee (as I 
have mentioned in a former letter) occupies their site. 
The central part of this cemetery contains several alms- 
houses, and is commonly called Kaid-Bey. Here, and 
for some distance towards the citadel, the tombs are 
closely crowded together, and the whole cemetery, being 
intersected by roads, like streets in a town, may justly be 
called a Necropolis, or City of the Dead. All the tract is 
desert ; and few persons are to be met here, excepting on 
the Friday morning, when it is the custom of the Mus- 
lims to visit the tombs of their relations and friends. 
Numerous groups of women are then seen repairing to 
the cemetery ; each bearing a palm-branch, to lay upon 
the tomb she is about to visit. 

On the south of the metropolis is another great ceme- 
tery, called El-Karafeh, still more extensive, but not con- 
taining such grand mausolea. This, also, is in a desert 
plain. Many of its tombs are very beautiful : one kind 
is particularly elegant, consisting of an oblong monument, 
generally of marble, canopied by a cupola, or by a pyra- 
midal roof, supported by marble columns. In the southern 
part of this cemetery is the tomb of the celebrated Imam 

* Built by his son and successor Farag, in the begin- 
ning of the ninth century after the Flight, or the fifteenth 
of our era. 

f Built about a century after the former. 
10* 



114 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

Esh-Shafe'ee, the founder of one of the four orthodox sects 
of El-Islam, that sect to which the people of Cairo chiefly 
belong. This Imam died in the year of the Flight 204 
(a. d. 819-20.) The present mosque which covers his 
tomb, is a plain whitewashed building, with a dome cased 
with lead. This mosque has been twice rebuilt, the pre- 
sent being the third building, and about two centuries 
and a half old. A little to the north of it is a low build- 
ing, which is the burial-place of the present Pasha's 
family. Between this cemetery and the mountain are 
many ancient mummy-pits choked with rubbish. They 
evidently show that this tract was the Necropolis of 
Egyptian Babylon. 

Along the western side of the metropolis are several 
Jakes and gardens. The most remarkable of the latter 
are those of Ibraheem Pasha ; but these I might more 
properly call plantations. I have mentioned them in a 
former letter. A great portion of the tract they occupy 
was, a few years ago, covered by extensive mounds of 
rubbish, which, though not so large nor so lofty as those 
on the east and south, concealed much of the town from 
the view of persons approaching it in this direction. All 
the camels, asses, &c, that die in the metropolis are cast 
upon the surrounding hills of rubbish, where hungry 
dogs and vultures feed on them. 

On the bank of the river, between Boolak and Masr el- 
'Ateekah, are several palaces, or mansions, among which 
is one belonging to Ibraheem Pasha, besides a large square 
building called Kasr El-'Eynee (which is an establish- 
ment for the education of youths destined for the service 
of the government,) and a small convent of Darweeshes. 
A little to the south of these buildings is the entrance of 
the khaleeg, or canal of Cairo ; and just above this com- 
mences the aqueduct by which the water of the Nile is 
conveyed to the Citadel. A large hexagonal building, 
about sixty or seventy feet high, contains the sakiyehs, 
which raise the water to the channel of the aqueduct. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 115 

The whole length of the aqueduct is about two miles. It 
is built of stone ; and consists of a series of narrow arches, 
very gradually decreasing in height, as the ground has a 
slight ascent, imperceptible to the eye. The water, to- 
wards the end of its course, enters a subterranean chan- 
nel, and is raised from a well in the Citadel. This aque- 
duct was built (in the place of a former one of wood) in 
the early part of the tenth century after the Flight (or the 
sixteenth of our era.) To the south of the aqueduct lies 
the town of Masr el-'Ateekah, the principal houses of 
which face the river, and the island of Er-Rodah. 

This island (the name of which signifies the Island of 
the Garden) is about a mile and three-quarters in length, 
and a third of a mile in breadth. The branch of the river 
on its eastern side is very narrow ; and when the Nile is 
at its lowest point, the bed of this narrow branch becomes 
nearly dry. The island contains several pleasure-houses 
and gardens; and the palm, the orange, the lime, the 
citron, the pomegranate, the vine, the sycamore, (which 
affords a deep and broad shade,) and the banana, form a 
luxuriant variety. The banana is especially beautiful; 
its long leaves spreading and drooping from the summit 
of the stem, like the branches of the palm-tree. On this 
verdant island we find also the henna-tree, so much esteem- 
ed by the women of this country for the dye afforded by 
its leaves, and so justly valued by persons of all countries 
for the delicious perfume which its flowers exhale. But 
the great charm of Er-R6dah is a garden belonging to 
Ibraheem Pasha, under the able superintendence of Mr. 
Traill, who has rendered it the most attractive thing of its 
kind in the neighbourhood of Cairo. 

Masr el-'Ateekah, though more than a mile in length, 
is a small straggling town, lying along the bank of the 
IN ile, and occupying a part of the site of El-Fustat. Many 
of the vessels from Upper Egypt unload here ; and a con- 
stant intercourse is kept up, by means of numerous ferry- 
boats, between this town and El-Geezeh. Behind the 



116 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

town are extensive low mounds of rubbish, covering the 
rest of the site of El-Fustat. In this desolate tract are 
situated the Mosque of 'Amr, the Kasr esh-Shema, and 
several Christian convents. 

The Mosque of 'Amr has been so often repaired and 
rebuilt, that almost every part of it may now be regarded 
as modern : yet there is something very imposing in the 
associations connected with this building, where the con- 
queror of Egypt, surrounded by " companions of the Pro- 
phet," so often prayed. 

The building occupies a space about 350 feet square ; 
its plan is a square court, surrounded by porticos, and its 
whole appearance very simple and plain. The exterior is 
formed by high bare walls of brick. The portico at the 
end of the court towards Mekkeh has six rows of columns ; 
that on the left side, four rows ; that on the right, three ; 
and on the entrance side only one row. The columns are 
of veined marble ; some, being too small, have an addi- 
tional plinth, or an inverted capital, at the base. The 
capitals are of many different kinds, having been taken, 
as also the columns, from various ancient buildings. 

The Kasr esh-Shema is an old Roman fortress, which 
was the stronghold of Egyptian Babylon, and the head- 
quarters of the Greek army, which the Arabs, under 'Amr, 
contended with and vanquished. It is said that this 
building was, in ancient times, illuminated with candles 
on the first night of every month ; and hence it derived the 
name it now bears, which signifies " the pavilion of the 
candles." The area which it occupies extends about a 
thousand feet from north to south, and six or seven hun- 
dred feet from east to west. Its walls are \ery lofty, con- 
structed of brick with several courses of stone, and 
strengthened by round towers. The interior is crowded 
with houses and shops, occupied by Christians, and it 
contains several churches ; among which is that of St. Ser- 
gius, where a small grotto, somewhat resembling an oven, 
is shown as the retreat of the Holy Family. The Egyp- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 117 

tian Babylon was situated on a rocky eminence, on the 
southeast of the Kasr esh-Shema. El-Makreezee and 
other Arab historians prove that this was the Masr which 
'Amr besieged and took. There was another fortress 
here, besides the Kasr esh-Shema, called the Kasr Babel- 
yoon (or the pavilion of Babylon.) This, I am told, was 
the spacious square building since called Istabl 'Antar (or 
the stable of Antar,) which in later times became a convent, 
and is now converted into a powder-magazine. To the 
west of the hill of Babylon, and close to the Nile, is the 
small village of Atar em-Nebee ; so called from a stone, 
bearing the impression of the Prophet's foot, preserved in 
a small mosque, which rises, with a picturesque effect, 
from the verge of the river. 

El-Geezeh, which is opposite to Masr el-Ateckah, is a 
small poor town, surrounded, excepting on the side towards 
the river, by a mean wall, which would scarcely avail to 
defend it from a party of Bedawees. It has been supposed 
to occupy a part of the site of Memphis; but this conjec- 
ture is known to be erroneous. 

I must mention also a few places north of the metropo- 
lis. A fine straight road, bordered by mulberry trees, 
sycamores, and acacias, leads to Shubra, the favourite 
country residence of the Pasha, rather more than three 
miles from Cairo. The palace of Shubra is situated by 
the Nile. Its exterior is picturesque, especially as viewed 
from the river, and it has an extensive garden laid out 
with much taste. 

About six miles distant from the northern gates of the 
metropolis, towards the north-northeast, is the site of He- 
liopolis, the City of the Sun, called by the Egyptians, 
" On ;" and by the Arabs, " Eyn-Shems," or, " the foun- 
tain of the sun ;" though, to bear this signification, the 
name should, I am told, be written " Eyn esh-Shems," 
which may also be interpreted, " the rays, or light of the 
sun." The route from Cairo to the site of Heliopolis lies 
along the desert ; but near the limits of the cultivable soil. 



118 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

This part of the desert is a sandy flat, strewed with peb- 
bles, and with petrified wood, pudding-stone, red sand- 
stone, &lc. A small mountain of red sandstone, called 
"El-Gebel el-Ahmar" (or "the red mountain,") lies at a 
short distance to the right, or east. On approaching 
within a mile of the site of Heliopolis, the traveller passes 
by the village of El-Matareeyeh, where are pointed out an 
old sycamore, under the shade of which (according to tra- 
dition,) the Holy Family reposed, and a well which afforded 
them drink. The balsam-tree was formerly cultivated in 
the neighbouring fields : it thrived no where else in Egypt ; 
and it was believed that it flourished in this part because 
it was watered from the neighbouring well. The name 
given by the Arabs to Heliopolis was perhaps derived 
from this well. In a space above half a mile square, sur- 
rounded by walls of crude brick, which now appear like 
ridges of earth, were situated the sacred edifices of Heli- 
opolis. The only remaining monument appearing above 
the soil is a fine obelisk, standing in the midst of the en- 
closure. The Arabs call it "the obelisk of Pharaoh." It 
is formed of a single block of red granite, about sixty -two 
feet in height, and six feet square at the lower part. The 
soil has risen four or five feet above its base ; for, in the 
season of the inundation, the water of the Nile enters the 
enclosure by a branch of the canal of Cairo. Upon each 
of its sides is sculptured the same hieroglyphic inscription, 
bearing the name of Osirtesen the First, who reigned not 
very long after the age when the pyramids were con- 
structed. There are a few other monuments of his time : 
the obelisk of the Feryoo'm is one of them. 'Abd El-La- 
teef, in speaking of Eyn-Shems, says that he saw there 
(about the end of the twelfth century of the Christian era) 
the remains of several colossal statues, and two great obe- 
lisks, one of which had fallen, and was broken in two 
pieces. These statues, and the broken obelisk, probably 
now lie beneath the accumulated soil. 

Such are the poor remains of Heliopolis, that celebrated 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 119 

seat of learning-, where Eudoxus and Plato studied thirteen 
years, and where Herodotus derived much of his informa- 
tion respecting Egypt. In the time of Strabo, the city 
was altogether deserted ; but the famous temple of the sun 
still remained, though much injured by Cambyses. The 
bull Mevis was worshipped at Heliopolis, as Apis was at 
Memphis. It is probable that the " land of Goshen" was 
immediately adjacent to the province of Heliopolis, on the 
north-northeast. 

Thirteen miles from Cairo, in the same direction as 
Heliopolis, is the village of El-Khankeh, once a large town, 
and long the camp of the regular troops. El-Khankeh is 
two miles to the north of the Lake of the Pilgrims, which 
is so called because the pilgrims collect and encamp by it 
before they proceed in a body to Mekkeh. This lake is 
more than two miles in length, from west to east, and a 
mile in breadth. It is filled by the canal of Cairo during 
the season of the inundation. 



LETTER XIII. 

December, 1842. 
My dear Friend, 

You must bear with me if I recur to the subject of the 
haunted house, for our disturbances came to a sort of 
climax which I think as curious as it was exciting, and 
so strikingly characteristic, that I must describe to you 
the particulars of the case. 

Ramadan ended about a month ago, and with it ended 
the comparative quiet of our nights. To describe to you 
all the various noises by which we have been disturbed is 
impossible. Very frequently the door of the room in which 
we were sitting late in the evening, within two or three 



120 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT, 

hours of midnight, was violently knocked at many short 
intervals : at other times, it seemed as if something- very 
heavy fell upon the pavement close under one of the 
windows of the same room, or of one adjoining, and as 
these rooms were on the top of the house, we imagined 
at first that some stones or other things had been thrown 
by a neighbour, but we could find nothing outside after 
the noises I have mentioned. The usual noises continued 
during the greater part of the night, and were generally 
like a heavy trampling, like the walking of a person in 
large clogs, varied by knocking at the doors of many of 
the apartments, and at the large water-jars which are 
placed in recesses in the galleries. Our maids have come 
and gone like shadows ever since our residence here, ex- 
cepting during Ramadan, and sauve qui pent seems to 
have been their maxim ; for they believe that one touch 
of an 'efreet would render them demoniacs. 

A few evenings since, a maid, who had only passed 
two days in the house, rushed to our usual sitting-room, 
whence she had just removed our supper, exclaiming that 
a tall figure in white had stood with arms outspread at 
the entrance of the upper gallery to prevent her passing, 
We all immediately returned with her, and as you will 
anticipate, found nothing. This white figure our servants 
call a saint, and they assert that the house is haunted 
by a saint and an 'efreet. One man assures us that this 
same saint, who is, to use his expression, " of dazzling 
whiteness," applied himself one night to the bucket of 
the well in the court, and having drawn up water, per- 
formed his ablutions and said his prayers. Frightening 
servant maids is rather inconsistent, I ween, with such 
conduct. Certainly the servants do not complain without 
reason, and it is particularly grievous, because there is 
not, throughout the whole healthful part of the city, one 
comfortable house vacant. 

During Ramadan, the Muslims believe that 'efreets are 
imprisoned, and thus our servants accounted for our 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 121 

freedom from annoyance during- that month. We on the 
other hand believed we had bolted and barred out the 
offender, by having discovered his place of ingress, and 
were much disappointed at finding our precaution useless, 

A few days since, our doorkeeper (a new servant), 
complained that he not only could not sleep, but that he 
never had slept since his arrival more than a few minutes 
at a time, and that he never could sleep consistently with 
duty, unless the 'efreet should be destroyed. He added, 
that he came up every night into the upper gallery leading- 
to our sleeping-rooms, and there he found the figure I have 
mentioned, walking round and round the gallery ; and 
concluded with an anxious request that my brother would 
consent to his firing at the phantom, saying that devils 
have always been destroyed by the discharge of fire- 
arms. My brother consented to the proposal, provided 
the servant used neither ball nor small shot. Two days 
and nights passed, and we found on the third, that the 
doorkeeper was waiting to ascertain whether the spectre 
w r ere a saint or a devil, and had therefore resolved to 
question him on the ensuing night before he fired. 

The night came, and it was one of unusual darkness. 
We had really forgotten our man's intention, although 
we were talking over the subject of the disturbances until 
nearly midnight, and speculating upon the cause, in the 
room where my children were happily sleeping, when we 
were startled by a tremendous discharge, which was 
succeeded by the deep hoarse voice of the doorkeeper* 
exclaiming " There he lies, the accursed !" and a sound 
as of a creature struggling and gasping for breath. In 
the next moment, the man loudly called his fellow servant, 
crying, " Come up, the accursed is struck down before 
me !" — and this was followed by such mysterious sounds 
that we believed either a man had been shot, and was in 
his last agonies, or that our man had accidentally shot 
himself. 

My brother went round the gallery, while I and my 
11 



122 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT 

sister-in-law stood like children trembling hand in hand, 
and my boys mercifully slept (as young ones do sleep), 
sweetly and soundly through all the confusion and dis- 
tress. It appeared that the man used not only ball-car- 
tridge, but put two charges of powder, with two balls, 
into his pistol. I will describe the event, however, in his 
own words. " The 'efreet passed me in the gallery and 
repassed me, when I thus addressed it. * Shall we quit 
this house, or will you do so ?' ' You shall quit it,' he 
answered ; and passing me again, he threw dust into my 
right eye. This proved he was a devil," continued the 
man ; " and I wrapped my cloak around me, and watched 
the spectre as it receded. It stopped in that corner, and 
I observed attentively its appearance. It was tall and 
perfectly white. I stooped, and before it moved again, 
discharged my pistol, which I had before concealed, and 
the accursed was struck down before me, and here are 
the remains." So saying, he picked up a small burnt 
mass, which my brother showed us afterwards, resem- 
bling more the sole of a shoe than any thing else, but 
perforated by fire in several places, and literally burnt to 
a cinder. This, the man asserted (agreeably with a 
popular opinion), was always the relic when a devil was 
destroyed, and it lay on the ground under a part of the 
wall where the bullets had entered. 

The noise which succeeded the report, and which 
filled me with horror, is, and must ever remain, a 
mystery. On the following morning we closely ex- 
amined the spot, and found nothing that could throw 
light on the subject. The burnt remains do not help us 
to a conclusion ; one thing, however, I cannot but believe 
— that some one who had personated the evil one suffered ■ 
some injury, and that the darkness favoured his escape. 
It is truly very ridiculous in these people to believe that 
the remains of a devil rosemble the sole of an old shoe. 
It reminds me of the condensed spirits of whom we read 
in the " Thousand and One Nights," who were (so say 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 123 

tradition) bottled up, hermetically sealed, and thrown 
into the sea, by order of Suleyman the son of Da-ood. 

I need scarcely say that the servant w T as reprimanded 
for disobeying his orders with regard to charging the 
pistol. With this one exception, he proved ever obedient, 
most respectful, and excellent in every point. I really 
believe the man was so worn out by want of sleep, and 
exasperated by finding the same figure nightly pacing 
round the galleries, and preventing his rest, that he be- 
came desperate. 

You will remember the story, in the " Thousand and 
One Nights," of the revenge threatened by an 'Efreet on 
a merchant, for having unconsciously slain his son by 
throwing a date-stone, which occasioned a mortal wound. 
The fear of unknowingly injuring an 'Efreet and in- 
curring his resentment is as strong as ever in the minds 
of these people. - They always say " Destoor" (permission) 
when about to step down from any elevated place, or 
w T hen they see another person going to do so. A poor 
little boy fell on his face the other day near our house, 
and hurt himself certainly, but before he cried, he ex- 
claimed, " Destoor !" I suppose concluding that if he had 
fallen on an 'Efreet unwittingly, the asking permission 
after the fact might cancel the offence ; and having done 
so he was satisfied, and cried heartily. 



124 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYI>T. 



LETTER XIV. 

Cairo, February, 1833, 
My dear Friend, 

You know how much I desire to obtain access to re- 
spectable hareems, as well those of the highest as those 
of the middle classes ; and now that my hope has been rea- 
lized, I find that I did not desire what would disappoint 
my expectations. Indeed I have felt exceedingly interested 
in observing the manners of the ladies of this country; in 
some cases I have been amused by their familiarity, and 
in many fascinated by the natural grace of their deport- 
ment. I am aware that by description I cannot do 
them justice, but I will endeavour to give you faithful 
pictures of those hareems I have already seen ; and first 
I must tell you that I am indebted exceedingly to the 
kindness of Mrs. Sieder, the lady of our excellent resident 
missionary, who has gained the confidence of the most 
distinguished hareems in this country, and has given me 
some introductions I particularly desired, without any 
reserve, and in the most ready and friendly manner. 
Among the ladies to whom she has introduced me are 
those of Habeeb Efendee, the late governor of Cairo; and 
in relating to you the particulars of my first visit to them, 
I give you an account of my initiation into the mysteries 
of the high hareems. 

I had been some time in Cairo before I dared to mount 
the " high ass ;" for their appearance is really formidable. 
I adopted the plan followed by many ladies here, that of 
a prayer-carpet spread on a common saddle ; but in visit- 
ing the high hareems, it became necessary to ride the 
high ass ; and I found it infinitely more agreeable than 
my usual donkey's equipment. Certainly I was obliged 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGVPT. s 125 

constantly to stoop my head under the gateways, and 
came nearly in contact with some projecting first-floor 
windows ; therefore I found it necessary to be on the 
alert ; but setting aside these objections, there is no com- 
parison to be made between the " high ass" and the 
ordinary donkeys — the former is so decidedly preferable. 

When we arrived at the house of Habeeb Efendee, and 
had passed the outer entrance, I found that the hareem 
apartments, as in other houses of the great in this coun- 
try, are not confined to the first and upper floors, but form 
a separate and complete house, distinct from that of the 
men. Having passed a spacious hall, paved with marble, 
we were met at the door of the first apartment by the 
elder daughter of Habeeb Efendee, who gave me the 
usual Eastern salutation, touching her lips and forehead 
with her right hand, and then insisted on removing my 
riding-dress herself, although surrounded by slaves. This 
was a mark of extraordinary condescension, as you will 
presently see. In the houses of the middle classes, the 
ladies generally honour their visiters by disrobing them 
of their riding-dress ; but in the high hareems this office 
is generally performed by slaves, and only by a member 
of the family when a guest is especially distinguished. 

In visiting those who are considered the noble of the 
land, I resume, under my Eastern riding costume, my 
English dress ; thus avoiding the necessity of subjecting 
myself to any humiliation. In the Turkish in-door cos- 
tume, the manner of my salutations must have been more 
submissive than I should have liked ; while, as an Eng- 
lishwoman, I am entertained by the most distinguished, 
not only as an equal, but generally as a superior. I. have 
never given more than the usual salutation, excepting in 
the case of addressing elderly ladies, when my inclination 
leads me to distinguish them by respectfully bending, 
and lowering my right hand before I touch my lips and 
forehead, when I am presented, and when I leave them. 
On receiving sweatmcats, coffee, sherbet, or any rcfresh- 
11* 



126 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. * 

ment, and on returning the cup, plate, &c., which contain 
them, I give always the customary salutation to the chief 
lady of the hareem, whose situation on the divan points 
her out as the superior of the party. 

At home, and when visiting ladies of the middle c3ass, 
I wear the Turkish dress, which is delightfully comforta- 
ble, being admirably adapted to the climate of this coun- 
try. I have never gone out but in the Eastern riding- 
dress, which I have already described to you. 

When the lady I have mentioned had removed my 
surtout apparel, a slave in attendance received them in 
an exquisite pink kerchief of cashmere, richly embroidered 
with gold. The kerchiefs of this kind, in the hareems 
of the wealthy, are generally very elegant, but that was 
the most perfect, specimen I have seen of correct and 
tasteful embroidery. The riding-dress was immediately 
taken into another room, according to a usual custom, 
which is observed for the purpose of creating a short, 
delay, giving an opportunity to offer some additional re- 
freshment when the guest has proposed to take her leave. 
My new acquaintance then conducted me to the divan, 
and placed me next to the seat of honour, which was 
reserved for her mother, the first cousin of the late Sultan 
Mahmoud, who soon entered the room, and gave me a 
cordial welcome, assigning to me the most distinguished 
seat on her right hand, the same to which her daughter 
had conducted me, while the grandmother of Abbas 
Pasha sat on her left. She was soon followed by her 
second daughter, who greeted me with much politeness, 
and in a very elegant manner assured me that I was 
welcome. She was more richly attired than her sister ; 
therefore I will describe to you her dress. 

She wore on her head a dark handkerchief twisted 
round a tarboosh, with a very splendid sprig of diamonds 
attached to the right side, and extending partly over her 
forehead. The sprig was composed of very large bril- 
liants, disposed in the form of three lutes, in the centre, 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 127 

from each of which a branch extended, forming- an oval 
shape, at least five inches in length. High on the left; 
side of her head she wore a knot or slide of diamonds, 
through which was drawn a bunch of ringlets, which, 
from their position, appeared to be artificial ; her tarboosh 
had the usual blue silk tassel, but this was divided and 
hanging on either side. Her long vest and trousers were 
of a dark flowered India fabric; she wore round her 
waist a large and rich cashmere shawl; and her neck 
was decorated with many strings of very large pearls, 
confined at intervals by gold beads. She was in one 
respect strangely disfigured ; her eyebrows being painted 
with kohl, and united by the black pigment in a very 
broad and most unbecoming manner. Many women of 
all classes here assume this disguise : some apply the 
kohl to the eyebrows as well as to the eyes, with great 
delicacy ; but the lady in question had her eyebrows so 
remarkable, that her other features were deprived of their 
natural expression and effect. 

A number of white slaves formed a large semicircle 
before us, and received from others, who waited in the 
ante-chamber, silver trays, containing glass dishes of 
sweetmeats. There were three spoons in each dish, and 
two pieces of sweetmeat in each spoon. These were 
immediately succeeded by coffee, which was also brought 
on silver trays ; the small china cups being, as usual, in 
stands, shaped like e^g-cups ; but these were not, as in 
ordinary houses, simply of silver filagree, or plain, but 
decorated with diamonds. They were certainly elegant, 
but more costly than beautiful. The coffee is never 
handed on the tray, but gracefully presented by the at- 
tendant, holding the little stand between the thumb and 
finger of the right hand. After these refreshments a 
short time elapsed, when two slaves brought in sherbet 
on silver waiters, in exceedingly elegant cut-glass cups, 
with saucers and covers. Each tray was covered witli a 
round pink richly-embroidered cover, which the slave 



128 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

removed as she approached us. To receive our cups, of 
the contents of which, according to custom, we drank 
about two-thirds, another slave approached, with a large 
white embroidered kerchief, ostensibly for the purpose of 
wiping the mouth ; but any lady would be thought quite 
a novice who did more than touch it with her lips. 

In the course of conversation, I expressed my admira- 
tion of the Turkish language, and, to my surprise, the 
elder of the young ladies gave me a general invitation, 
and proposed to become my instructress : addressing her- 
self to Mrs. Sieder with the most affectionate familiarity, 
she said, " O my sister, persuade your friend to come to 
me frequently, that I may teach her Turkish ; in doing 
which, I shall learn her language, and we can read and 
write together." I thanked her for her very polite offer, 
but made no promise that I would become her pupil ; 
foreseeing that it would lead to a very considerable waste 
of time. In all the hareems I have visited, Arabic is 
understood and spoken ; so I do not expect any advan- 
tage from a knowledge of Turkish, unless I could devote 
to its study considerable attention. 

The perfect good humour and cheerfulness which per- 
vaded this family-circle is well worthy of remark, and 
much engaged my thoughts during the morning of my 
visit. All that I observed of the manners of the Eastern 
women, at Habeeb Efendee's and elsewhere, leads me to 
consider the perfect contrast which the customs of East- 
ern life present to the whole construction of European 
society. If you have read Mr. Urquhart's " Spirit of the 
East," you have felt interested in his view of the life of 
the hareem, and have thought that the Eastern " home" 
which he represents in such a pleasing manner possesses 
considerable attractions. Believe me, there is much to 
fascinate and much to interest the mind in observing 
peculiarities in these people which have no parallel in the 
West ; and I could furnish a letter on contrasts nearly as 
curious as Mr. Urquhart's. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 129 

How extraordinary it seems that girls, until they are 
given away in marriage, see only persons of their own 
sex, with the exception of a few very near male relations, 
and then receive as their future lord and master one with 
whom no previous acquaintance has been possible ! This 
is so revolting to the mind of an Englishwoman, that the 
mere consideration of such a system (which indeed, I am 
told, is beyond what the rigour of the law requires) is 
intolerable ; therefore I must observe, and admire all 
that is admirable, and endeavour to forget what is so 
objectionable in the state of Eastern society. 

Before our departure it was proposed that I should see 
their house ; and the elder daughter threw her arm round 
my neck, and thus led me through a magnificent room 
which was surrounded by divans ; the elevated portion 
of the floor was covered with India matting, and in the 
middle of the depressed portion was the most tasteful 
fountain I have seen in Egypt, exquisitely inlaid with 
black, red, and white marble. The ceiling was a beauti- 
ful specimen of highly-wrought arabesque work, and the 
walls as usual whitewashed, and perfectly plain, with 
the exception of the lower portions, which, to the height 
of about six feet, were cased with Dutch tiles. 

I was conducted up stairs in the same manner ; and I 
could not help feeling exceedingly amused at my situa- 
tion ; and considering that these ladies are of the royal 
family of Turkey, you will see that I was most remark- 
ably honoured. 

When we approached the bath, we entered the recli- 
ning room, which was furnished with divans, and pre- 
sented a most comfortable appearance ; but the heat and 
vapour were so extremely oppressive in the region of the 
bath, that we merely looked into it, and gladly returned 
to the cool gallery. I am not surprised that you are 
curious on the subject of the bath and the Eastern man- 
ner of using it ; and I hope to devote a future letter to a 
description of the operation (for such indeed it may be 



130 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

styled), and the place in which that operation is per- 
formed. 

On our reaching the stairs, the second daughter of 
Habeeb Efendee took her sister's place ; and with her 
arm round my neck, we descended the stairs, and re- 
entered the room where I had received so kind a recep- 
tion. When we rose to take our leave, the elder daughter 
received my riding-dress from a slave, and was about to 
attire me, when her sister said, " You took them off; it 
is for me to put them on." The elder lady partly con- 
sented, retaining the habarah, and thus they dressed me 
together. Then, after giving me the usual salutation, 
they each cordially pressed my hand, and kissed my 
cheek. We then descended into the court, attended by 
the ladies, and a crowd of white slaves. Having crossed 
the court, we arrived at the great gate, through which I 
had before passed, which was only closed by a large mat, 
suspended before it, forming the curtain of the hareem. 
This mat was raised by black eunuchs, who poured from 
a passage without, and immediately after the ladies bade 
us farewell, and returned, followed by their slaves. The 
principal eunuch ascended first the mounting platform, 
and placed me on the donkey, while two others arranged 
my feet in the stirrups ; our own servants being kept in 
the background. 

A few days after this visit, I received a second invita- 
tion from this hareem, with the polite assurance that they 
intended making a festival and fantasia for my amuse- 
ment. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 131 



LETTER XV. 

April, 1843. 
My dear Friend, 

You will congratulate us on our having quitted " the 
haunted house ;" and you will do so heartily when I tell 
you that six families have succeeded each other in it, in 
as many weeks, since our departure. The sixth family 
was about to quit immediately when we heard this news ; 
five having been driven out by most obstinate persecu- 
tions, not only during the nights, but in broad daylight, 
of so violent a description, that the windows were all 
broken in a large upper chamber, our favourite room. 
The sixth family suffered similar annoyances, and also 
complained that much of their china was demolished. 
Like ourselves, no one has been able to obtain quiet rest 
in that house, or rather I should say, others have been in 
a worse state than ourselves, for we obtained some relief 
in consequence of our doorkeeper's achievement. And 
now I hope I have done with this subject. I have said 
much upon it, but I must be held excusable, as " 'tis 
passing strange." 

Our present house is extremely commodious, and much 
taste and judgment have been displayed in its construe- 
tion. The terrace is extensive and very picturesque, and 
the upper rooms are well situated. Most of the rooms are 
furnished with glass windows, and the house altogether, 
being exceedingly well built, is adapted for affording 
warmth in the winter, and proving a cool summer 
residence. 

With regard to a sojourn in Egypt, it is not an easy 
matter to give you the pour et contre. Of one thing I am 
convinced, that persons must remain a year in this coun- 



132 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

try, that is, they must go the round of the seasons, or 
nearly so, before they can fully j udge of the comforts it 
offers. I well remember the extreme annoyance I expe- 
rienced, for some months after our arrival, from the un- 
usually prolonged heat, of which I complained to you, 
and from the flies and musquitoes, which were really and 
constantly distressing ; and I could scarcely believe what 
people told me, namely, that I should soon find myself 
very well contented with the climate of the country. As 
to the musquitoes, they interfere so much with enjoy- 
ment, that a traveller who visits Egypt during the great 
heat may assert, with truth, that he has no comfort by 
day, nor by night until he enters his curtain. I confess 
that I often feared we could not remain here as long as 
I wished. No sooner, however, did the Nile subside, than 
my hopes revived ; and rinding that the most charming 
temperature imaginable succeeded the heat, I began to 
understand what travellers mean when they call this a 
delicious climate. November is a sweet month here — 
December and January are rather too cold, taking into 
consideration that there are neither fire-places nor chim- 
neys in any of the houses, excepting in the kitchens. 
February and March are perfectly delightful, the tempe- 
rature then being almost as mild as summer in England. 
During April there occur some instances of hot wind, 
otherwise it is an agreeable month. In May the hot 
winds are trying, and then follow four months of oppres- 
sive heat. 

Devoted as I am, justly, to my own dear country and 
her blessed associations, I can give you my candid opi- 
nion, without any fear that I shall be suspected of pre- 
ferring a residence in the Levant to my English home, 
and will show you, without reserve, in what consist the 
fascinations of this part of the East ; — in the climate, in 
the manners of the people, and in the simplicity of their 
habits, which not only attract my admiration, but render 
me much less affected by their general poverty than I am 



THE ENGLISH WOMAN IN EGYPT. 133 

by less distress in my own country. It is very cer- 
tain that if a daily journal were published in Cairo, we 
should not see paragraphs headed " death by starvation," 
■ distressing case," &c. ; but why is it ? for there are no 
houses here for the reception of the poor, as in England. 
It results from the contented spirit of the poor, if provided 
simply with bread and water ; and, more than all, from 
the sort of family union which subsists throughout the 
East, and which literally teaches the poor to " bear each 
other's burthens." In visiting the middle and higher 
classes of society, the same family compact is observable, 
and the mother of the family continues always the mother 
and the head ; her gentle reign lasting with her valued 
life, and the love and respect of those around her increas- 
ing with her years. It is asserted, that when Moham- 
med was asked what relation had the strongest claim on 
affection and respect, he replied with warmth, " The mo- 
ther ! the mother ! the mother !" 

All blood relations in the East take precedence of the 
wife, who is received into a family as a younger sister. 
It could scarcely be suffered here, or in Turkey, that a 
father or mother should quit a house to make way for 
a son's wife. This you will remember is remarked in 
Mr. Urquhart's " Spirit of the East ;" and let me ask you, 
is not this as it should be ? I cannot understand how 
any person with a spark of nature in his breast could 
allow a beloved parent to resign what a child should be 
willing to shed his heart's blood to preserve. 

In obtaining an insight into the habits and manners of 
the women, I possess considerable advantages ; first, from 
my brother's knowledge of the East, and secondly, from 
my plan of adhering strictly to habits cherished by the 
people, which system has secured at once their respect, 
while it has excited their surprise. We have even gone 
so far as to adopt their manner of eating; and here 
I must digress to beg you not to say " How very disgust- 
12 



134 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

ing !" but read how we do it, and then you may confess 
that it is not so unpleasant as you thought. The dishes 
are prepared in a very delicate manner ; for instance, 
small cucumbers and other vegetables of a similar kind 
are scooped out and stuffed with minced meat and rice ; 
minced meat is wrapped in vine-leaves, and so dexte- 
rously cooked, that each leaf with its contents continues 
compact, and is easily taken in the fingers. Fried meat 
in cakes, and the same in form of sausages, are equally 
convenient; and all I have mentioned, and a hundred 
others (for there is a great variety in their cookery), may 
be taken almost as delicately as a slice of cake. For 
soups, rice prepared in the Eastern manner, and stews, 
we use spoons; and so do the Turks. One difficulty 
occasionlly presents itself; but not at home. The chief 
lady of a house, to do her guests honour, presents them 
with morsels of her own selection, with her own fingers"; 
and in some cases repeats this compliment frequently. 
It would be a positive affront to refuse these ; and I am 
quite sure that no Englishwoman can so far strain her 
politeness as to eat as much as her hostess, in her exces- 
sive hospitality, desires, though the latter sets her a won- 
derful example. I have really seen the ladies of this 
country eat as much as should suffice for three or four 
moderate meals at one sitting*. But to return to my 
difficulty. I always found it to be the best plan to 
receive readily, for a time, the morsels which were 
offered; and when satisfied, to accept perhaps another, 
and sometimes two or three ; at the same time assuring 
my entertainer, that they were redundant, but that her 
viands were so. extremely well chosen, that I must, after 
the repast, inquire who has superintended the cuisine, 
and derive from her some information. Thus I removed 
the impression which was immediately formed, that the 
dinner was not dressed agreeably with my taste : and 
induced only the remark, that " the English eat so much 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 135 

less than the Easterns ;" accompanied by regret that so 
little satisfied me, but followed by an expression of plea- 
sure that the dinner was so agreeable to me. 

I have not found the system of Eastern etiquette diffi- 
cult of adoption; and from the honourable manner in 
which I have been received, and treated, and always 
pressed to repeat my visit, I may draw the conclusion 
fairly, that I have understood how to please the people. 
It has been a favourite opinion of mine, and one in which 
I have been educated, that a little quiet observation of 
the manners and habits of others will always prevent 
those differences about trifles which so often disturb 
society, and sometimes separate even friends. Here I 
have indeed found the advantage of exercising this ob- 
servation, and it has proved the means of securing to me 
invariably polite attention and respect. 

I think you would be amused could you see our dinner- 
arrangements at home. First, a small carpet is spread 
on the mat ; then, a stool cased with mother-of-pearl, &c. 
is placed upon it, and serves as the support of a round 
tray of tinned copper, on which is arranged our dinner, 
with a cake of bread for each person. A maid then 
brings a copper ewer and basin, and pours water on the 
hands of each of our party, and we arrange ourselves 
round the tray, our Eastern table-napkins spread on our 
knees. These are larger and longer than English hand- 
towels, that they may cover both knees when sitting in 
the Turkish manner. During the meal, the maid holds a 
water-bottle, or defends us from flies with a fly-whisk. 
Having no change of plates, knives, or forks, no time is 
lost at dinner ; and it usually occupies twenty minutes. 
Thus, much valuable time is saved by avoiding works of 
supererogation. One or two sweet dishes are placed on 
the tray with those which are savoury ; and it is singular 
to see the women of this country take morsels of sweet 
and savoury food almost alternately. Immediately after 
dinner, the ewer and basin are brought round, the stool 



136 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

and carpet are removed with the tray, and the stool is 
always placed in another room until again required. 
There is something very sociable in this mode of sitting 
at table, and it is surprising to see how many persons 
can sit with comfort round a comparatively small tray. 
I should advise you and other friends in England to 
resume the use of small round tables : I have often 
regretted they are no longer in fashion : for a small 
family, they are infinitely more comfortable than the 
large square or oblong tables used in England. 

It is true, as you suppose, that I am sometimes amused 
at my position, and more particularly so, when, on the 
occasion of any thing heavy being brought into the 
hareem, one of the men passes through the passage belong, 
ing to it. Their approach is always announced by their say- 
ing audibly "O Protector! (Ya Satir) and "Permission!" 
(Destoor), several times. Excepting on such occasions, 
no man approaches the hareem but the sakka, or water- 
carrier ; and I often think that any person with a know- 
ledge of Arabic, and none of the habits of the people, 
would think these sakkas devotees, judging by their con- 
stant religious ejaculations. The men are quite as care- 
ful in avoiding the hareem, as the ladies are in conceal- 
ing their faces, and indeed, in many cases, more so. 
I have been amused particularly by the care of one of 
our men, who, having lived many years in a Turkish 
family, is quite a Turkish servant. On one occasion, on 
returning home from riding with my boys, my donkey 
fairly threw me off as he entered the court ; and when 
this man raised me up (for my head was on the ground), 
I supported myself for a moment with my hands against 
the wall of the house, while I assured my poor children, 
who were exceedingly frightened, that I was not hurt, 
forgetting that I was showing my hands not only to our 
own men, but to the men who attended the donkeys ! 
I was immediately recalled to a consciousness of where 
I was, and of the impropriety of such an exposure, by the 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 137 

servant I have mentioned, who most respectfully covered 
my hands with my habarah, and wrapped it around me 
so scrupulously that the men had not a second time the 
advantage of seeing a finger. 

No person can imagine the strictness of the hareem 
without adopting its seclusion, nor can a stranger form a 
just estimate of the degree of liberty enjoyed by the 
women without mixing in Eastern society. One thing is 
certain, that if a husband be a tyrant, his wife is his 
slave ; but such cases are extremely rare. I do not pre- 
tend to defend the system of marrying blindfold, as it 
were ; nor do I look for those happy marriages which 
are most frequently found in England ; but I am pleased 
to find the Eastern women contented, and, without a 
single exception among my acquaintances, so cheerful, 
that I naturally conclude they are treated with considera- 
tion. The middle classes are at liberty to pay visits, and 
to go to the bath, when they please ; but their fathers and 
husbands object to their shopping ; therefore female bro- 
kers are in the frequent habit of attending the hareems. 
The higher orders are more closely guarded, yet as this 
very circumstance is a mark of distinction, the women 
congratulate each other on this subject ; and it is not un- 
common for a husband to give his wife a pet name, ex- 
pressive of her hidden charms, such as " the concealed 
jewel." 

There lives opposite to us a good old woman, a devo- 
tee, who is a sort of Deborah to the quarter, and who 
passes judgment from her projecting window on all cases 
which are proposed for her opinion, much to our edifica- 
tion. One occurred a few days since, which will show 
you that the system I have described is not confined to 
any particular grade in society. A young man in the 
neighbourhood had been betrothed to a very young girl, 
upon the recommendation of his fellow-servant, without 
sending any of his own female relations to ascertain if her 
appearance was agreeable, or the reverse. Becoming 
12* 



138 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

anxious on this subject, two days after the betrothal, he 
sent a female friend, who asserted that his bride had but 
one eye, that she was pitiable in appearance, and unfit to 
become his wife. The person who had recommended 
her was a married man, and the bridegroom accused him 
of culpable negligence, in not having ascertained whether 
she had two eyes or not, as he might have sent his wife 
to pay her a visit ; while, on his own part, he had taken 
no such precaution, and, being the most interested, was 
certainly the most to blame. Such was the state of the 
case when referred to Deborah. After hearing it pa- 
tiently, she said to the young man, " My son, why did you 
consent to be betrothed to a girl who was not known to 
your mother and to the women of your house?" " They 
have been, since my betrothal, to see her," he answered, 
in a very melancholy tone of voice, " but she sat in a 
dark room, and they could not tell whether she had two 
eyes or not ; and, in truth, O my mother, I have bought 
her many articles of dress, and I have paid four hundred 
piastres as her dowry, the savings of many months." 
" Has she learnt any trade ?" asked the old woman, 
" that so much was required as her dowry ?" " No," re- 
plied the bridegroom ; " but she is of a higher family than 
mine, possessing houses, and lands, and property." " Pro- 
perty belongs to God," replied she ; and so saying, she 
retired from the conference. We have since heard that, 
although the family of the girl is too respectable to permit 
that her betrothed husband should see her face even in 
her mother's presence, he has put the houses, and lands, 
and property in the scale, and found her defect too light 
to be worthy of consideration. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 139 



LETTER XVI. 

April, 1843. 
My dear Friend, 

I do assure you that slavery in the East is not what 
you imagine it to be. Here, perhaps, the slave is more 
in the power of the master than in the West, and there 
are some monsters, at whose names humanity shudders, 
who dreadfully abuse the power they legally claim ; but, 
generally speaking, an Eastern slave is exceedingly in- 
dulged, and many who have been cruelly torn from their 
parents at an early age, find and acknowledge fathers and 
mothers in those to whom they are sold. They are 
generally extremely well-dressed, well-fed, and allowed to 
indulge in a degree of familiarity which would astonish 
you. If they conduct themselves well, they are frequently 
married by their masters to persons of respectability, and 
the ceremony of the marriage of a slave in the high 
hareems is conducted with extreme magnificence. It is 
not unusual for a grandee to give away in marriage se- 
veral female slaves, and sometime concubines, on the 
same day, to husbands of his own selection. In some in- 
stances, the slaves are distressed at being thus disposed 
of, and would rather remain in their old home, but gene- 
rally a marriage of this kind is a subject for extraordinary 
rejoicing ; and accustomed as the women are to submit to 
the will of others in the affair of matrimony, from the 
highest to the lowest in the East, the fact of their supe- 
riors choosing for them their husbands rather recom- 
mends itself to their approval, and excites their gratitude. 
On the day of their marriage they are dressed in the 
most costly manner ; while in the hareems to which they 
belong, Cashmere shawls, sometimes cloth of gold, are 



140 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

laid that they may walk over them. Singing and dancing 
women are engaged for the occasion, and several girls 
bearing censers, and others sprinkling perfumes, attend 
each bride. You have heard and read of the Arab 
dancing, which is far from delicate, but the dancing in 
the Turkish hareems is not in any respect objectionable. 
The girls throw themselves about extravagantly, but fre- 
quently gracefully ; and turn heels over head with amu- 
sing dexterity. It is not a pleasing exhibition, but not a 
disgusting one. 

I cannot admire the singing, the women choose gene- 
rally such exceedingly high keys that it resembles scream- 
ing rather than singing. I sometimes think that with the 
support of a tolerable accompaniment the songs might be 
agreeable, but the instruments of the country are any 
thing but musical, and interfere considerably with the 
purposes of harmony. The voices of the singers are re- 
markably fine, and would be perfection under European 
culture ; and the performers are usually enthusiastic in 
their love for their art, but still more so are their hearers. 
The vocalists are for the most part respectable. 

When the slave of a grandee is given away in mar- 
riage, the man chosen as her husband is almost always 
somewhat of a dependant ; and the lady generally treats 
him as if he were somewhat of a dependant with respect 
to herself. 

I have been exceedingly amused lately, by reading in 
the " Sketches of Persia," the account which is given by 
some natives of that country (including persons occupying 
high offices under government, therefore the noble of the 
land), of the liberty and power of their women ; and I am 
disposed to think with them, that women, in many re- 
spects, have the ascendancy among the higher orders 
throughout the East. We imagine in England that the 
husband in these regions is really lord and master, and 
he is in some cases ; but you will scarcely believe that 
the master of a house may be excluded for many days 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 141 

from his own hareem, by his wife's or wives' causing a 
pair of slippers to be placed outside the door, which sig- 
nifies that there are visiters within. It is true that the 
husband sometimes becomes tired of frequent exclusion, 
and forbids, as indeed he has a rig-ht to do, the constant 
admission of visiters ; but in so doing, he draws down on 
his head much discomfort. He has his remedy, cer- 
tainly ; but how sad is the system of divorce ! Who can 
defend it ? Where a wife has become a mother, the hus- 
band is seldom willing to divorce her ; but where this is 
not the case, the affair is far too easily managed. 

Among the lower orders, some of the husbands are sad 
tyrants. The fact is, that the men foolishly marry such 
little young creatures, they are more like their children 
than their wives, and their inexperience unjustly pro- 
vokes their husbands. While on this subject, it occurs to 
me to tell you that Deborah has a most refractory grand- 
daughter, who is certainly the plague of her life. This 
child is in the habit of reviling the neighbours' servants ; 
and a few days since she used abusive language to a man 
who was sitting in his master's doorway. The door- 
keeper was exceedingly provoked, and at once retorted, 
" When I have a little more money, I will marry you, 
and punish you every day." This manner of revenge is 
something really new to us Europeans. 

Last week, a little bride was paraded through the 
streets in our neighbourhood, whose age could scarcely 
have exceeded ten years. Thinking the procession, and 
the whole affair, an exceedingly good joke, she was im- 
patient of control ; and instead of walking under the 
canopy, and submitting to inarch between two of her fe- 
male friends, preceded by a woman fanning her, she 
insisted upon walking backwards before the former, and 
fanning them herself. This will give you some idea of 
the mere children who are married here. 

The employments of the hareem chiefly consist in em- 
broidery, on an oblong frame, supported by four legs ; but 



142 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

they extend to superintending the kitchen, and indeed the 
female slaves and servants generally ; and often ladies of 
the highest distinction cook those dishes which are par- 
ticularly preferred. The sherbets are generally made by 
the ladies ; and this is the case in one hareem I visit, 
where the ladies, in point of rank, are the highest of East- 
ern haut ton. The violet sherbet is prepared by them in 
the following manner : — The flowers are brought to them 
on large silver trays, and slaves commence by picking off 
the outer leaves ; the ladies then put the centres of the 
violets into small mortars, and pound them until they have 
thoroughly expressed the juice, with which, and fine sugar, 
they form round cakes of conserve, resembling, when 
hardened, loaf-sugar dyed green. This produces a bright 
green sherbet, prettier than the blue or pink, and exceed- 
ingly delicate. I do not know of what the blue is com- 
posed, but am told that it is a particular preparation of 
violets : the pink is of roses ; the yellow of oranges, apri- 
cots, &c. It would be tedious were I to describe the va- 
riety of sherbets ; but those I have mentioned will give 
3 T ou an idea of these cooling summer drinks. About four 
table-spoonfuls of syrup in three quarters or a pint of water 
form a most agreeable beverage. 

You will be surprised to hear that the daughter of the 
Pasha, in whose presence the ladies who attend her never 
raise their eyes, superintends the washing and polishing 
of the marble pavements in her palaces. She stands on 
such occasions barefooted on a small square carpet ; hold- 
ing in her hand a silver rod : about twenty slaves surround 
her ; ten throw the water, while others follow them wiping 
the marble, and lastly polishing it with smooth stones. 

It is very grievous that the women in general are 
merely instructed in handiwork. But I must not speak 
slightingly of their embroidery ; for it is extremely beauti- 
ful — as superior as it is unlike to any fancy-work practised 
in England. Taste of a very remarkable kind is displayed 
in its execution ; and similar, in many respects, to that 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 143 

exhibited in the most elaborate decorations of Arabian 
architecture ; but its singular beauty is in some measure 
produced, where colours are employed, by the plan of often 
taking" the colours at random. 

The embroidery which is done in the hareems is very 
superior to any other, and frequently interspersed with 
precious stones, generally diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and 
rubies. The rich large brocade trousers often are richly 
ornamented with jewels, and are stiff with decorations ; 
but the Saltah (a small jacket) for chasteness and elegance 
is that which I most admire of all the embroidered articles 
of dress. For winter wear, it is of velvet, or fine cloth, 
lined with silk. Saltahs of rich silk are worn during the 
autumn and spring; and, during the summer, dresses of 
European muslin are almost universally adopted, and are 
the only kind of apparel suited to the intense heat of an 
Egyptian summer. 

Few of the ladies can read and write even their own 
language. I know, however, some exceptions. In one 
family, the daughters have been extremely well instructed 
by their brother, whose education was completed in Europe. 
In their library are to be found the works of the first Ita- 
lian poets and the best literature of Turkey ; and these they 
not only read, but understood. 



144 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER XVII. 

Cairo, June, 1843. 
My dear Friend, 

There has been an alarm of plague in Cairo, and several 
of the great hareems have been in quarantine. The ap- 
prehension has been induced by the fearful murrain which 
has raged during nine months, as a similar misfortune 
has proved in former years the forerunner of a severe pes- 
tilence. 

I mentioned to you some time since that such a cala- 
mity was dreaded ; and it has in some measure arrived. 
At El-Mansoorah, the cases of plague have not been few ; 
and while on this subject I must tell you an extraordinary 
fact, which will show you that it is even possible to extract 
sweet from one of the bitterest of human draughts. Some 
Russians have been at El-Mansoorah for the purpose of 
studying the disease. As a means of discovering whether 
it be contagious or not, they have employed persons to 
wear the shirts of the dead, and paid them five piastres a 
day for so doing. This was a considerable salary, being 
equal to a shilling per day ! Now when the poor of this 
country consider half a piastre per day a sufficient allow- 
ance for each person, and maintain themselves well, in 
their own opinion, on this trifling sum, you can conceive 
how charmed they might be with the liberal offers of these 
Russian gentlemen, were it not for the risk they incurred. 
Risk, however, they did not imagine. The poor flocked 
to the physicians from all parts of the town, and entreated 
to be permitted to wear the plague-shirts. One old man 
urged his request, saying, " I am a poor old man, with a 
family to maintain ; do not refuse me ; by your life, let me 
wear a shirt." The women crowded round the house 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 145 

where their imagined benefactors had taken up their 
quarters, to bless them for having undertaken to support 
them, their husbands, and their children : and when the 
chief of these adventurous gentlemen found the dwelling 
thus surrounded, he walked forth among them, and, taking 
off his hat, made a courteous low bow to his dark-eyed 
visiters ; whereupon they made the air resound with the 
shrill zaghareet, or cries of joy. 

Not one of the shirt-wearers died, although the physi- 
cians after a short time (during which they awaited the 
result of their experiment) had recourse to heating the 
shirts to 60° Reaumur. Still the poor peasants lived, and 
throve on their good fare ; but one of the physicians died. 
How he took the disorder is of course a subject for con- 
troversy, but that the shirt-wearers escaped, is a great 
triumph to the non-contagionists of Cairo ; and from all 
we can learn, the best informed are of this party. 

In the house of a merchant in Cairo, a slave has lately 
died of plague, and, according to custom, a soldier was 
placed at the door to enforce strict quarantine. The mer- 
chant did not relish this restraint, and desired the com- 
fort of going in and out at pleasure. Accordingly, he 
attacked the cupidity of his temporary gaoler, and coax- 
ingly addressed him, saying, " Thou knowest, O my bro- 
ther, that I am a merchant, and therefore have much busi- 
ness to transact in the markets, where my presence is 
necessary. Let me go, I beseech thee, and I will hire 
another to take my place. Consider my case in thy gene- 
rosity," he added, putting into his hand a piece of nine 
piastres ; and the soldier found his pity so sensibly touched, 
that further remonstrance was unnecessary : the merchant 
passed, and the substitute was accepted — a new way of 
keeping quarantine ! 

Long since I told you that I feared the plague might 
induce us, this year, to go to Upper Egypt ; but the ac- 
counts have never been such as to show us the necessity ; 
indeed, on the contrary, though constantly making the 
13 



146 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

most anxious inquiries, we did not hear that there had 
been many cases of plague in the city, until the time of 
danger had passed. 

It is a singular and sad fact, that during our few 
months' sojourn here this country has been visited by 
three of its peculiar plagues — murrain, boils and blains 
(or common pestilence), and locusts. The first has de- 
stroyed cattle to an almost incredible amount of value ; 
the second has not been so severe as it usually is ; but the 
locusts are still fearfully eating the fruits of the ground. 
In the gardens of Ibraheem Pasha and others, the pea- 
sants are employed to drive them away by throwing 
stones, screaming, beating drums, &c. 

My assertion with regard to the small daily pay that 
contents these poor people will show you how much it is 
in the power of a person of moderate income to dispense 
comfort to a considerable number of poor grateful fellow- 
creatures ; and could you but see the blind, lame, old peo- 
ple who solicit alms in the streets of Cairo, you would 
yearn to supply their simple wants. 

Those who are above distress are, with the exception of 
a very small proportion, such as we should number in 
England among the poor ; but, in many respects, they 
husband their little property in a very strange manner : 
though they never waste a morsel of food, they are some- 
times extravagant with trifles, simply from want of ma- 
nagement. A short time since we received from a shop 
a little parcel about a span long, round which was wound 
forty-seven feet of string, so that the paper was only here 
and there visible ; and this was not, as you might sup- 
pose, on account of the value of its contents, which cost 
but a few pence. 

The climate produces a great degree of lassitude, and 
the people will often use any thing within their reach (if 
their own property) rather than make the smallest exer- 
tion ; and yet, as I have remarked to you some time since, 
no people can work harder or more willingly when called 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 147 

on to do so. I do exceedingly like the Arabs, and quite 
delight in my rides in remarking the grace and politeness 
which cast a charm on their manners. It is very inte- 
resting to see two peasants meet ; there appears so much 
kindly feeling among them, many good-humoured inqui- 
ries ensue, and they part with mutual blessings. 

While riding out, a few days since, I was surprised by 
witnessing the extreme display which is exhibited during 
the wedding festivities of a mere peasant. When I ar- 
rived within a few doors of the house of the bridegroom, 
I passed under a number of flags of red and green silk, 
suspended to cords extending across the street ; above these 
were hung seven immense chandeliers, composed of varie- 
gated lamps ; and awnings of green and white canvass 
were stretched from roof to roof, and afforded an agreea- 
ble shade. Here the bride was paraded, covered with a 
red Cashmere shawl, numerously attended, and preceded 
by her fanner, beneath a rose-coloured canopy. 

A stranger might imagine that the feast which con- 
cludes this display is the result of extreme hospitality, 
but this is not the case ; I was surprised at hearing of 
the system on which it is conducted. A peasant, for in- 
stance, will often buy two sheep, two hundredweight of 
flour, and butter in proportion ; these things forming 
always the chief articles of a feast prepared for the lower 
orders in Egypt. He will then add different kinds ot 
fruit according to the season, and abundance of tobacco 
and coffee ; and for the amusement of his visiters, he en- 
gages singers, and sometimes dancing-girls. To effect 
this, he will borrow money, and his next step will be to 
invite all his relations, and all his friends and acquaint- 
ance. These feel obliged to accept the invitation ; and 
no one joins the party without a present in his hand : 
therefore, at the conclusion of the feast, the bridegroom is 
often rather a gainer by the festivities than otherwise. 
In every instance his friends enable him to repay those 
from whom he has borrowed. Real hospitality has no 



148 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

part in the affair whatever. Ostentation alone actuates 
the bridegroom in making his preparations. 

On the morning after his marriage he is generally ac- 
companied by his friends into the country, or to a garden, 
where they feast together, and are usually entertained by 
dancing and songs. The expense of this fete champetre, 
in like manner, seldom falls heavily upon the bridegroom. 

The Egyptians have an especial passion for gardens and 
water. Even stagnant water, if sweet, they consider a 
luxury : running water, however dirty, they hold to be 
extremely luxurious ; and when, during the inundation, 
the canal of Cairo is full, all the houses on its banks are 
occupied by persons who sit in their leisure hours smoking 
by its muddy waters : but the height of their enjoyment 
consists in sitting by a fountain — this they esteem Para- 
dise. 

How much I wish we had the comfort of occasional 
showers in Egypt : however, one of my boys amuses me 
often by supplying this desideratum by watering their 
garden from an upper projecting window ; employing for 
this purpose a large watering-pot with an ample rose, 
whence many a refreshing shower falls before the lower 
windows, washing the thick dust from a mulberry-tree, 
and really giving an agreeable idea of coolness. 

This same mulberry-tree was an object of great admi- 
ration to a man who described our present house to us 
before we saw it : he said, after stating the accommoda- 
tion which the house afforded, " And there is a tree in 
the court !" Having forgotten what sort of tree it was, he 
blessed the Prophet (as these people do when they want 
to brush up their memory), and then said, " It is a vine." 

This sultry day I can write no more ; and if able to 
forget the heat, the poor little sparrows would remind me 
that it is indeed oppressive, for they are flying in and out 
of our windows with their beaks wide open. They do 
not seem calculated to bear this intense heat ; and they 
congregate round their food and water on the terrace, 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 149 

looking so pitiable during a hot wind, that we should 
like to transport them to England. There, however, I 
am afraid they would not tenant the houses so fearlessly 
of harm as they do in Egypt. Here is no wanton cruelty : 
a great deal of apathy with regard to suffering is appa- 
rent in the character of the people ; but I do not think the 
Arabs, in general, ever inflict an intentional injury. 



LETTER XVIII. 

July, 1843. 
My dear Friend, 

Since I remarked to you the general cheerfulness 
which reigns in the hareems I had then seen, I have 
visited one belonging to a Turkish grandee, which offers 
a sad exception, and touchingly exhibits a picture of 
family love and blighted happiness. The old and beloved 
master of this hareem is under a cloud ; he is suffering 
the displeasure of the Pasha, and is confined in the state 
prison. I received a most kind welcome from the ladies 
of his family. I remarked with regret the depression 
which weighed down the spirits of all who composed it, 
and I was shocked to hear from the chief lady that she 
also was a prisoner, having orders not to quit her house. 

She was attired in a kind of morning-dress, of white, 
embroidered with black ; but wore a splendid kind of 
crown* This was composed of diamonds, set in gold, 
forming flowers, &c, — the whole being of a convex shape, 
circular, and about six inches in diameter. It was worn 
upon the crown of the head, attached to the cap round 
which the head-kerchief was wound, and had a very rich 

* In Arabic a " Kurs." 
13* 



150 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

appearance, the diamonds being so near together, that 
the interstices only served, like the red gold in which the 
stones were set, to heighten their brilliancy. At a little 
distance, the crown seemed like one heap of diamonds. 

When this lady referred to her heart's trouble, tears 
rolled down her cheeks ; and I do not think there was 
one lady or slave present whose eyes were not suffused 
with tears; one especially interested me, for she was 
quite unlike any Eastern I have seen, having the com- 
plexion and the auburn hair and eyes of the pretty Irish. 
She manifested by the expression of her countenance 
more distress than her companions. I imagined she was 
one of her master's wives ; for she was attended by her 
nurse carrying her child (an exquisite little cherub) and 
several slaves. She did not, however, sit on the divan by 
" Hanum," or the chief lady. 

The mothers here exceedingly fear the evil or envious 
eye ; and it is quite necessary, when an infant or young 
child appears, to exclaim, " Mashallah," and to refrain 
from remarking its appearance ; it is also important to 
invoke for it the protection and blessing of God; and 
having done so by repeating the expressive phrases used 
on such occasions in Eastern countries by Christians as 
well as Muslims, the parents are happy that their chil- 
dren have been introduced to the notice of those who put 
their trust in God. 

The apartments of this hareem are situated in a large 
garden; and the interior decorations are like those of 
most Turkish palaces in this comitry. The walls are 
painted in compartments, and adorned with ill-executed 
landscapes, representing villas and pleasure-grounds. 

I once told you that in all the hareems I had seen, the 
chief lady was the only wife : I can no longer make such 
a boast ; but look and wonder, as an Englishwoman, how 
harmony can exist where the affection of the husband is 
shared by I do not like to say how many wives. 

Hareem-gardens are never agreeable places of resort in 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 151 

or near a town ; for the walls are so high that there is no 
free circulation of air, and the trellises for the support of 
vines over the walks are really roofs, necessary certainly 
at noon-day under a nearly vertical sun, but excluding 
the only refreshing morning and evening air. 

I was surprised, during my second visit to the hareem 
of Habeeb ErTendi, to find the ladies (whom I had not 
seen for a long time on account of the late plague) im- 
mersed in politics, and painfully anxious on account of 
the difference of opinion which has arisen between the 
Emperor of Russia and their cousin the Sultan. They 
earnestly inquired whether England would espouse the 
cause of Turkey, and were in some measure comforted 
by a reference to the friendship which England had so 
warmly manifested for the young Sultan, and the active 
measures which our government had adopted for the re- 
establishment of his rule in Syria. I find the feeling 
very strong in favour of England in the hareems ; and I 
conclude that I hear general opinions echoed there. I 
judge not only from the remarks I hear, but from the ho- 
nourable manner in which I am treated ; and the recep- 
tion, entertainment, and farewell I experience are in every 
respect highly flattering. 

I told you of the great politeness that was shown me 
on the occasion of my first visit to the royal ladies I have 
just mentioned. On my second visit to them I was almost 
perplexed by the honour with which they distinguished 
me ; for the chief lady resigned her own place, and seated 
herself below me. I was obliged to comply with her de- 
sire ; but did so with much reluctance. 

I saw nothing that I need describe, in the way of dress 
or ornament, on this occasion, excepting the girdle of the 
elder daughter. This was a broad band, of some dull 
material of a pale-gray colour, embroidered with small 
wliite beads, which composed an Arabic sentence, and 
having a most splendid diamond clasp, in the form of 
two shells, somewhat wider than the belt. There was 



152 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

another visiter present, who by her title and appearance 
I saw to be a lady of very high rank ; and if the Turks, 
as some people say, admire fat women, she must be con- 
sidered a prodigious beauty. I have seldom, if ever, seen 
a larger person, 

One of the most beautiful women I have seen in Egypt 
is the wife of a celebrated poet. I love to look on a pretty 
face, and hers is especially sweet, Her manners, too, are 
charming ; her welcome on my introduction was particu- 
larly cordial, and her request that I would pay her a long 
visit was made with evident sincerity of kindness. With 
the exception of her diamond crown, her dress was simple, 
and her whole demeanour free from affectation ; I should 
imagine her character is a source of cheerful contentment 
to her husband and her children. You will forgive my 
national pride and prejudice when I say she reminded 
me of an Englishwoman. 

The house of this lady's family is of the old Arab de- 
scription, and is situated on the margin of a lake in the 
outskirts of the city, surrounded by excellent and very 
picturesque houses, having on the ground-floors, courts 
roofed with trellises, supported by pillars, and other fan- 
ciful wood -work, and covered with jasmines and vines. 
In these the male inhabitants spend their pastime or idle 
hours, looking on the water. The upper floors are fur- 
nished with meshrebeeyehs (the projecting windows I 
have described to you) overlooking the lake. 

From visits I turn to visiters ; to tell you that a most 
unwelcome guest made his appearance yesterday. Be- 
tween the blind and glass of a window in the room where 
we usually sit, I discovered a large snake, more than a 
yard and a half long. It was outside the window ; but 
directly it saw me through the glass, it raised its head, 
and protruded its black forked tongue, It was of a light 
brown colour, and down the centre of its back its scales 
were of a bright yellowish hue. It was in such a situa- 
tion that it was scarcely possible to catch it, and indeed 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 153 

my brother was the only man in the house who would 
attempt to do so ; for our servants were so overcome by 
superstitious dread, that they would not approach the 
intruder, and one of the men dared not even look at it : 
we were therefore unwilling he should touch it, and per- 
suaded him to send for a snake-charmer. 

There was a considerable difficulty in finding" at such 
a moment, a man of this profession, although Cairo 
abounds with them. At length a poor old man arrived, 
who was nearly blind, and mistook a towel (which was 
pressed between the sashes to prevent the creature enter- 
ing) for the object of my dread. He addressed it with 
much courtesy, saying " O Blessed !" several times, which 
expressed an invitation : to this, however, the snake turned 
a deaf ear; and twining itself dexterously through the 
trellis blind, it curled into a window in the court, and 
was entirely lost. We certainly would rather it had been 
found, although assured it could only be, from our descrip- 
tion, a harmless house-snake. 

You have doubtless read many accounts of the feats of 
Eastern snake-charmers, and wondered at their skill. 
Very lately, a friend of ours witnessed an instance of the 
fascination, or rather attraction, possessed by one of these 
people. He was in the house of an acquaintance when the 
charmer arrived, who, after a little whistling, and other 
absurd preliminaries, invoked the snake thus : " I con- 
jure thee, by our Lord Suleyman" (that is, Solomon, the 
son of David), " who ruled over mankind and the Jan" 
(or Genii) ; " if thou be obedient, come to me ; and if 
thou be disobedient, do not hurt me !" After a short 
pause, a snake descended from a crevice in the wall of 
the room, and approached the man, who secured it. No 
other snake appearing, it was decided that the house was 
cleared, and our friend requested the snake-charmer to 
accompany him to his own house. He did so, and in- 
voked the snakes in the same words. The invocation 



154 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

was attended by the same result : a snake descended, and 
in the same manner resigned itself to the serpent-charmer. 

With regard to the serpent still in our house, let us 
say, with the Muslims, we are thankful it is not a scor- 
pion. Their philosophy is a lesson to us. 

Several poor neighbours have lately been stung by 
scorpions : we sent them some carbonate of ammonia 
to apply to the wounds, and it was the means of pro- 
ducing the happiest results. 

Cairo, with its many ruined houses, affords innume- 
rable nests for noxious reptiles ; and the progress of its 
decay has lately been so rapid, that at last a proclamation 
has been issued by the Pasha for extensive alterations 
and repairs throughout the city. The houses are to be 
whitewashed within and without; those who inhabit 
ruined houses are to repair or sell them ; and uninhabited 
dwellings are to be pulled down for the purpose of form- 
ing squares and gardens ; meshrebeeyehs are forbidden, 
and mastabahs are to be removed. Cairo, therefore, will 
no longer be an Arab city, and will no longer possess 
those peculiarities which render it so picturesque and 
attractive. The deep shade in the narrow streets, in- 
creased by the projecting windows — the picturesque 
tradesman, sitting with one friend or more before his 
shop, enjoying the space afforded by his mastabah — these 
will be no more ; and while I cannot but acknowledge the 
great necessity for repairing the city, and removing the 
ruins which threaten the destruction of passengers, I 
should have liked those features retained which are 
essentially characteristic — which help, as it were, to 
group the people, and form such admirable accessories to 
pictures. 

I must add to this letter an account of a shameful and 
very ridiculous imposition which was practised upon us 
a fortnight ago. A poor old man who had for some time 
filled the situation of doorkeeper to our quarter, had long 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 155 

been ill, and had been assisted by several gentlemen in 
procuring some necessary comforts. One day my brother 
received a letter from the Sheykh of the quarter, telling 
him that poor Mohammad the doorkeeper had received 
mercy at the sixth hour of the preceding night, and ex- 
pressing a hope that he would give them the price of his 
shroud. My brother, accordingly, sent one of his ser- 
vants to the house of Mohammad, where he found his 
body laid out, a washer of the dead attending, and his 
wife apparently in great distress on account of her loss. 
She returned the most grateful acknowledgments for the 
bounty which was sent to aid in enabling her to bury her 
poor husband ; and after a while the affair passed from 
our recollection (we never having seen the poor man), or 
if remembered, it was only to inquire who would supply 
his place. 

The old woman removed to another house a few days 
after ; and a maid-servant of ours, on passing by chance 
her new dwelling, was surprised to the last degree to see 
the late doorkeeper sitting within its threshold. " What," 
exclaimed she, " my uncle Mohammad alive, and well !" 
" Praise be to God," he answered, " I am well, and have 
lived on the bounty of your master, the Efendee ; but, by 
your life, my daughter, do not tell him that I am alive." 
The old man, I should here tell you, is no relation of the 
maid's; this being one of the usual modes of address 
among the lower orders. The maid promised his exist- 
ence should continue a secret ; but she found on her re- 
turn home it was impossible to keep her word, and the 
quarrel which ensued between her and the servant who 
conveyed the money for the shroud (both believing their 
own eyes) was as violent as that between Haroon Er- 
Rasheed and his wife Zubeydeh, or rather that between 
their two emissaries, on the subject of Abu-1-Hasan the 
wag. 



156 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER XIX. 

September, 1843. 
My dear Friend, 

In describing to you the honourable reception and ele- 
gant entertainment I experienced in the Pasha's hareem, 
I cannot be too minute. 

The chief residence of his ladies is the Kasr-ed-Dubarah, 
a fine house situated on the west of Cairo, on the eastern 
bank of the Nile, and justly their favourite retreat. After 
riding through the plantations of Ibraheem Pasha, which 
almost surround the palace, we arrived at the great gates 
of the Kasr, through which we entered a long road within 
the high walls covered with trellis closely interwoven 
with vines. At the end of this we dismounted, and 
walked on a beautiful pavement of marble through seve- 
ral paths, until we arrived at the curtain of the hareem. 
This being raised, we were immediately received by a 
young wife of Mohammad 'Alee, who addressed my friend 
Mrs. Sieder in the most affectionate terms, and gave us 
both a most cordial welcome. In a moment a crowd of 
ladies assembled round us, vying with each other in pay- 
ing us polite attention; and having disrobed me, they 
followed us (the wife of the viceroy with us leading the 
way) to the grand saloon. 

This is a very splendid room, paved with marble, as 
indeed are all the passages, and, I imagine, all the apart- 
ments on the ground-floor; but as several are entirely 
covered with matting, I cannot assert this to be the case. 
The pavement in the saloon is simply white marble, the 
purest and best laid I have seen in the East. The ceiling 
(which is divided into four distinct oblong compartments) 
is painted admirably in stripes of dark and light blue, 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 157 

radiating from gilded centres, from each of which hang 
splendid chandeliers containing innumerable wax-lights. 
The corners and cornices are richly decorated. The 
pavement under the two centre compartments is not mat- 
ted, but the two ends, to the right and left on entering, are 
covered with fine matting, and fitted with crimson divans. 

The windows are furnished with white muslin curtains 
edged with coloured fringe, some pink and some blue. 
All the looking-glasses (of which there are perhaps six in 
the saloon) are furnished with festoons and curtains of 
pink and blue gauze. There is one table with a cover of 
pink crape embroidered in stripes of gold, and having 
upon it a large glass case of stuffed birds.* On either 
side of the door are fanciful stands for large square glass 
lanterns, composed of pillars, round which are twined 
artificial flowers. The windows are European in form, 
and the hareem blinds are composed of tasteful iron- 
work ; I can scarcely say filigree, the pattern is too bold. 
The entire interior decorations are in light and summer 
taste, and the saloon charmingly cool. 

We crossed to an apartment on the opposite side, where 
the same lady placed us on the divan and seated herself 
by our side. This room is entirely covered with matting, 
and Garnished with most luxurious divans, extending 
round three sides, not raised (as is usual) on a frame 
about a foot or more in height, but entirely of cotton, 
forming mattresses two feet in thickness, placed on the 
ground. These are covered with very gay chintz, as are 
also the cushions which incline against the walls ; and at 
the right and left upper corners are distinct square 
cushions, covered with white muslin embroidered with 
black braid, and each having back cushions to corre- 
spond. Above all these there is a row of small cushions, 
covered with white muslin and embroidered with black, 

* These were taken from the United States, where they 
were prepared and set up, — Ed. 
14 



158 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

corresponding in pattern with the corner seats. The 
curtains resemble those in the saloon. 

Here we received coffee, which was handed to us by 
the chief lady of the household, the treasurer, a particu- 
larly lady-like person, to whom it was handed by a lady 
who bore it on a silver salver, attended by several others ; 
one carrying- the little coffee-pot in a silver vessel, sus- 
pended by chains, and also used as a censer, contain- 
ing burning charcoal. The whole group was most pic- 
turesque, and many of the ladies were fair, young, and 
beautiful. 

The lady of the Pasha then proposed our returning to 
the saloon, that she might conduct us to the widow of 
Toosoon Pasha, and to the daughter of Mohammad 'Alee 
Pasha, who were sitting at the upper corner. I found 
the former lady seated on a cushion on the ground, next 
to the right-hand corner, and the daughter of the Viceroy 
took the seat of honour, which was also a cushion placed 
on the ground. Numerous ladies and slaves were in 
attendance ; all standing in a line before the edge of 
the mat. 

We were soon joined by another wife of the Pasha, the 
mother of Mohammad 'Alec Bey (a boy about nine years 
of age) ; her designation is " The lady, the mother of 
Mohammad 'Alee Bey." 

It would be a breach of etiquette, and contrary to 
hareem laws, were I to describe particularly the persons 
of the wives of the Pasha, or any lady after distinguishing 
her by her name or her situation in a family ; but I may 
in general terms express my admiration of the two ladies 
I have seen, and I think they are the only wives of the 
viceroy. Both are young — the one is a dignified and 
handsome person, and the other especially gentle and 
very lovely. 

Soon after noon, dinner was announced ; and the widow 
of Toosoon Pasha led the way to a room adjoining the 
saloon, where a most elegant dinner was arranged, on a 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 159 

very large round silver tray, placed on a stool, and sur- 
rounded by cushions. The passages we passed were 
occupied by innumerable black female slaves, and some 
eunuchs, dressed in all the variety of gay Eastern cos- 
tume, and forming a curious contrast and most pic- 
turesque background to the ladies and white slaves who 
surrounded and accompanied us. On either side of the 
door several ladies, each with an embroidered napkin 
hung on her right arm, held silver ewers and basins that 
we might wash our hands before advancing to the table. 

No one was admitted to the table but the widow of 
Toosoon Pasha, the daughter of Mohammad 'Alee Pasha, 
the mother of Mohammad 'Alee Bey, with ourselves, and 
a lady of great importance in the East, the foster-mother 
of 'Abbas Pasha.* The place of the younger wife was 
vacant. 

The tray was covered with small silver dishes filled 
with various creams, jellies, &c, and most tastefully gar- 
nished with exquisite flowers. In the centre was a for«- 
quarter of lamb, on pilav. I was truly glad, on this 
occasion especially, that my home-habits had been East- 
ern ; had the case been otherwise, a joint of meat to be 
eaten without knife or fork would have been a formidable 
object; for, under any circumstances, I should not have 
anticipated that the widow of Toosoon Pasha, who is also 
the mother of Abbas Pasha, and who, being the eldest, was 
the most honoured at table, would have distinguished me 
as she did, by passing to me, with her own fingers, almost 
every morsel that I ate during dinner. The mother of 
Mohammad 'Alee Bey in the same manner distinguished 
Mrs. Sieder. 

The lamb was succeeded by stew ; the stew by vegeta- 
bles ; the vegetables by savoury cream, &c, composing 
an innumerable variety ; and each was removed, and its 
place filled, when perhaps only tasted. Sweet dishes, 

* 'Abbas Pasha is the reputed successor to the Pashalik. 



160 • THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

most delicately prepared, succeeded these in rapid suc- 
cession ; and, with one exception, a]l were in silver dishes. 
Ladies attended close to our divan with fly -whisks ; be- 
hind them about thirty formed a semicircle of gaily- 
dressed, and, in many cases, beautiful women and girls ; 
and those near the door held large silver trays, on which 
the black slaves who stood without placed the dishes, that 
the table might be constantly replenished. 

Black female slaves in the houses of the great are not 
permitted to enter an apartment where are visiters ; but 
black eunuchs, when favourites with their masters, are 
constantly to bo found in the very centre of a high 
hareem. 

In presenting the morsels to me, the widow of Toosoon 
Pasha constantly said, " In the name of God ;" and these 
words are always said by the Muslims before eating 
or drinking. "Praise be to God" is the grace after 
either. 

There is one particularly agreeable custom observed 
after dinner in the East ; each person is at liberty to 
leave the table when satisfied. To a European it is 
really a relief to do so, the dishes are so numerous, varied, 
and rich. 

There is much grace in the manners of the ladies of 
the East even in the most trifling actions : it was pretty 
to observe the elegance with which the silver ewers and 
basins were held for us when we left the tray. We were 
succeeded at the table by the highest ladies of the house- 
hold ; and I imagine others, according to their rank, 
dined after these, until all had taken their meal. 

We returned to the saloon, where we were met by the 
younger wife of the Pasha, who had been prevented join- 
ing us at table by indisposition. She gave me a most 
kind general invitation to the Kasr ed-Dubarah, and a 
particular one to a festival which is to take place on the 
occasion of a grand marriage some time before I quit this 
country. The fantasia, she assured me, is to be the most 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT 161 

splendid that can be prepared or arranged ; and I shall 
soon be permitted to tell you the name of the bride. This 
she told me ; but I must not mention it until the day is 
fixed for the marriage. It is an Egyptian state secret ! 

There are many extremely beautiful women in the ha- 
reem of the Pasha, and many handsome young girls ; 
some not more than ten years of age. The Turkish 
ladies, and the Circassians, and Georgians, are generally 
extremely fair ; and I must particularly mention one who 
was remarkably beautiful, and more splendidly dressed 
than any of her companions. She did not enter the 
saloon until we heard dinner announced ; and her appear- 
ance was something very attractive. Her yelek and shin- 
iiyan (or long vest and trousers) were of rich plum- 
coloured silk, and the quiet colour of her dress exhibited 
with brilliant effect a profusion of costly diamond orna- 
ments. Her head-dress was tastefully arranged, and the 
richer sprays of diamonds w T cre lavishly interspersed in a 
dark crape headkerchicf 

I cannot take a better opportunity of describing the 
Eastern dress, as worn by the Turkish ladies, than while 
the hareem of the Pasha is fresh in my recollection. The 
tarboosh (or red cap) is trimmed with a very large and 
full tassel of dark blue silk, which is separated and spread 
over the crown, and those ladies who wear rich orna- 
ments almost always display their most costly jewels on 
the back of the head, either in the form of a kurs, which 
I have described to you, or a spray, very much resembling 
in form a fleur de lis, but broader and shorter ; this is 
placed at the division of the tassel, which latter is often so 
broad when spread, as to extend an inch beyond the head 
on either side in a front view. The headkerchicf is 
wound round the head, partly over the forehead, and the 
fringed ends are arranged on one side ; the front hair is 
cut short, and combed towards the eyebrows, and this is 
extremely unbecoming, disfiguring even a beautiful face, 
excepting in cases where the hair curls naturally, and 
14* 



162 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYFT. 

parts on the forehead. The long hair is disposed in nu- 
merous small plaits, and looped up on either side over the 
headkerchief. In many cases, the hair of the younger 
ladies, and white slaves, is dishevelled, and hanging 
loosely on the shoulders ; but this I have only observed in 
the Turkish hareems : many in the Kasr ed-Dubarah 
wear their long" hair flowing- on their shoulders, and, in 
some instances, their attractions are considerably height- 
ened by this simplicity ; but no coiffure, however studied 
or simple, is so pretty as that worn by the Arab ladies, 
whose long hair hanging down the back is arranged in 
many small plaits often lengthened by silk braid, and 
generally adorned with hundreds of small gold ornaments, 
resembling oval spangles, which harmonize better with 
the Eastern costume than any other fashion. 

To return to the Turkish ladies : they wear the yelek 
considerably longer than their height ; the back part 
resting on the ground, and forming a graceful train ; and 
in walking over a mat or carpet, they hold the skirts in 
front over the arm. The shirt is of silk gauze, fine mus- 
lin, or a very beautiful thin crape, with glossy stripes, 
which is made of raw silk in the hareems, and is cream - 
colour ; the sleeves of this are not confined at the wrist. 
The shintiyan are extremely full, and generally of a dif- 
ferent material from the yelek : the former being of rich 
brocade, large patterned muslin, or chintz, or sometimes 
of plain satin, or gros de Naples. The yelek, on the con- 
trary is made of a material with a delicate pattern, ge- 
nerally a small stripe, whether of satin, Indian silk, or 
muslin. 

Those ladies who are not perfectly idle, and who have 
not slaves as train-bearers, tuck their skirts through their 
girdles ; and thus, I think, the dress is very gracefully 
worn. Ladies of distinction always wear Cashmere 
shawls round the waist, generally red ; and those in Kasr 
ed-Dubarah had a narrow edge of gold, with gold cords 
and tassels at the corners. There, the nurz were different 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 163 

from any I had before seen ; being" of embroidered cloth, 
of various colours ; and the daughter of the Pasha, and 
others, had their long sleeves buttoned at the wrist. The 
sleeves are always so made that they can be buttoned if 
their length prove inconvenient ; but as the great ladies of 
the land do not occupy themselves in any way, but spend 
their time on their divans, they can scarcely find these 
hanging draperies incommodious. 

This description of dress leads me back to the lady 
whose appearance so especially attracted my admiration. 
After I requested that my riding-dress might be brought, 
I observed several ladies crossing the saloon, among 
whom she walked, bearing it towards me, and looking 
like a queen in person and in dress. She dressed me 
with much grace, and then with her companions stepped 
back into the doorway to receive and give the parting 
salutation. One circumstance I have omitted, namely, 
the crimson embroidered curtains, which hang before all 
the doorways in the palace ; for the doors stand open, a 
closed door being never permitted in the hareems. Much 
taste is displayed in the embroidery of these curtains ; 
indeed, the perfection of taste is to be found in the deco- 
rations of the Kasr ed-Duharah, 



164 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER XX. 

December, 1843. 
My dear Friend, 

I cannot better give you an idea of the order and disci- 
pline observed in the hareems of the great and wealthy 
than by comparing each to a petty state, with its rulers 
and its officers. The person occupying the place of 
highest rank, next to the master, is the chief lady, who is 
often called, properly or improperly, Hanum, or, correctly, 
Khanum. This title, which literally signifies " My Lord," 
(for Turkish ladies, whom we in England generally look 
upon as persons treated with little respect, are honoured 
with male titles) by right belongs first only to those 
ladies of the Sultan whom we call sultanas ; that is, to 
any of the near female relations of the sovereign, and to 
any of his ladies who has borne a prince or princess ; 
secondly, to the wives of the grand vezeer ; but it is some- 
times given by courtesy to the wives of grandees in ge- 
neral, and sometimes to ladies of inferior grades. The 
male title Efendim (literally " My Master") is also given 
to the same ladies. 

The chief lady of the hareem is the mother of the 
master ; or, if his mother be not living, his sister, or 
sisters, take precedence ; and next to them ranks his fa- 
vourite wife. The question of priority among the wives 
of one man is more easily arranged than you, with Euro- 
pean notions respecting the rights of women, could im- 
agine possible. It is generally settled thus : the fir^t 
wife, if she become a mother, retains her rank above any 
wife subsequently taken ; but if not, she yields to another 
more fortunate, and consequently, more beloved and ho- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 165 

noured. The other wives take their stations according 
to the preference of their husbands. 

Each wife, among the higher classes, has her separate 
apartments, and distinct attendants ; for even Eastern 
wives might manifest jealousy under circumstances of 
constant intercourse with each other. In the cases of the 
great, it is not unusual for each wife to occupy a separate 
mansion ; but whether in one large house, or several 
smaller ones, the hareem of the grandee occupies the 
whole, or nearly the whole, of the abode, which is gene- 
rally enclosed by garden walls as lofty as the houses in 
the immediate neighbourhood. Without the aid of scaling 
ladders, or the more effectual mean of admission — intrigue, 
the hareem of the Turkish grandee is well secured from 
illicit visiters. At the outer 'door is stationed a bowab, or 
doorkeeper, and the second is guarded by eunuchs. Be- 
yond the second is suspended the hareem curtain which I 
have before described ; and in the first of the inner apart- 
ments are the black female slaves who undertake the 
menial offices of the hareem. After passing the outer 
apartments white slaves are found carrying silver sprink- 
ling bottles of scented water, small silver censers sus- 
pended by chains, coffee, pipes, sherbet, and sweetmeats ; 
each set of coffee-cups or sherbet-cups being placed on a 
small tray, and often concealed beneath a round splendidly 
embroidered cover, bordered with deep and heavy gold 
fringe. Among the white slaves may be observed several 
who are considered superior to their companions, walking 
about as though superintending their arrangements ; and 
among the former, especially, I have found the most 
lovely girls in the hareems, many of them fully justifying 
my preconceived ideas of the celebrated Georgian and 
Circassian women. Excepting in two cases, cheerfulness 
has appeared to me to reign among these fair prisoners ; 
entirely excluded as they are from intercourse with any 
persons of the other sex, except their master and his very 
near relations. If any other man attempted to pass be- 



166 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

yond the first entrance, his temerity would in all proba- 
bility be punished with death the moment his purpose 
should be discovered. 

The houses of the grandees, separate from their hareem, 
are generally accessible ; and the liberty of ingress is 
sometimes not a little abused. Last month Mohammad 
'Alee was residing in his palace at Shubra, and two 
Europeans resorted thither for the purpose of seeing the 
gardens. They wore the Frank dress, with the exception 
of their having adopted the tarboosh, a shawl round the 
waist, and red shoes. After perambulating the gardens, 
they entered the palace, and meeting with no opposition, 
they examined one apartment after another, and at length 
entered the bedroom of the Pasha, where sat his highness, 
nearly undressed ! Although taken by surprise, his 
Turkish coolness did not forsake him : calling for his 
dragoman, he said, " Inquire of those gentlemen where 
they bought their tarbooshes." The Europeans replied, 
" They were purchased in Constantinople ;" " and there" 
rejoined the Pasha, " I suppose they learned their manners. 
Tell them so." Judging from this retort that their pre- 
sence was not agreeable, the Franks saluted the viceroy, 
and withdrew. 

This reminds me of another late occurrence, in which, 
however, was exhibited only a want of knowledge of 
Turkish etiquette ; no absence of gentlemanly mind. An 
European gentleman who lately visited Egypt was intro- 
duced, among others in this city, to a grandee, and was 
accompanied to his residence by a friend of my brother, 

and Mons. L , both of whom, during many years, 

have resided in this country, and visited in the best 
Eastern society. After they had partaken of the usual 
refreshment of pipes and coffee, sherbet was brought, and 
handed first to the stranger. He looked ut it for a 
moment, and then at the gaily embroidered napkin hung 
over the arm of the slave who presented it; and following 
the impulse given, I conclude by his preconceptions of 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 167 

Eastern habits of cleanliness, dipped his fingers in the 
sweet beverage, and wiped them on the napkin. Mons. 

L , with the perfect delicacy which characterises 

French politeness, followed his example, dipped his fingers 
in the sherbet, and wiped them on the napkin. I wonder 
whether their host understood his motive for such strange 
doings. My brother's friend sat at a little distance from 
his companions, and confessed that he drank his sherbet. 

To return to the organization of the great hareems : 
the Hanum generally has four principal attendants, two of 
whom are elderly, and act simply as companions : the third 
is the treasurer, and the fourth, the sub-treasurer. The 
next in rank are those who hand pipes and coffee, sherbet 
and sweetmeats ; and each of these has her own set of 
subordinates. Lastly rank the cooks and house -slaves, 
who are mostly negresses. The hareem is a little world 
of women, in which many have passed their infancy and 
their childhood; the scene of their joys and sorrows, their 
pleasures and their cares ; beyond which, they have no 
idea of a wider theatre of action ; and from w 7 hich they 
anticipate no change but to the hareem of their husbands. 

The ideas entertained by many in Europe of the im- 
morality of the hareem are, I believe, erroneous. True 
it is, that the chief ladies have much power which they 
might abuse ; but the slaves of these ladies are subject to 
the strictest surveillance ; and the discipline which is 
exercised over the younger women in the Eastern hareem 
can only be compared to that which is established in the 
convent. A deviation from the strictest rules of modesty 
is followed by severe punishment, and often by the death 
of the delinquent. The very framework of Eastern society 
is so opposed to the opinions of Europeans, that I will 
venture to prophecy it must be the work of several genera- 
tions to root up prejudice before the mind of the Eastern 
can be prepared for the reception of our ideas of civiliza- 
tion. That Christianity is the only medium through 



168 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

which happiness may be attained by any people is most 
certain; therefore as the Easterns are very far from 
being Christians, except in the mere dogmas of their 
faith (inasmuch as they acknowledge the Messiah, though 
denying his divine nature, and his atonement for sin), so 
they are very far from being really happy. 

The prejudice existing among the Turkish women 
against the pure doctrines of Christianity is evident from 
occasional, or rather, I should say, from frequent re- 
marks made in my presence, and to my friends. One 
lady, who gave me a general and warm invitation to her 
hareem, and treated me really affectionately, so far be- 
trayed her opinions, that she exclaimed to me, and to my 
friend, u What a pity that you are Christians !" Alas ! 
such feelings are too general for our minds to be blinded 
to the fact of their existence ; and so long as martyrdom 
awaits the convert to our blessed faith, little or no pro- 
gress will be made by those benevolent men, whose devo- 
tion of happiness and of life to our Saviour's cause will 
secure for them the favour of their God, however unsatis- 
factory may be the results of their labours. 

Of those female slaves who, after the age of childhood, 
have been brought from countries where they have en- 
joyed almost unbounded liberty, few, perhaps, become re- 
conciled to the confinement within the narrow and limited 
precincts of the hareem. Some, by their personal charms 
rendered favourites of the master, doubtless delight in the 
luxurious prison. Others, who have, in addition to his 
favour and affection, a stronger tie to their foreign home — 
that of their having borne him a child, would receive 
their emancipation, if accompanied by a dismissal and a 
marriage to some other person, with earnest prayers for 
the retraction of the intended boon. Brought up, in 
general, with Muslim feelings, they become the most 
affectionate of mothers. Their maternal tenderness is 
often most especially manifested by their dread of the 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 169 

evil eye ; a superstition which obliges me, in my inter- 
course with Muslim mothers, to observe the utmost caution 
in making any remarks upon children. 

In one instance, I was unfortunate, in one respect, in a 
remark of this kind ; but fortunate in another respect, 
inasmuch as one of my own children was the subject. I 
occasioned much distress to an Arab lady who was 
passing the day with me (when, in the course of conver- 
sation, the effects of climate on the constitution of the 
young were discussed) by observing that my eldest boy 
had not suffered as the rest of our party had done from 
the heat ; adding thankfully, that I considered him strong. 
In an instant she vociferated, " Bless the Prophet ! bless 
the Prophet !" and repeated this for some time, while she 
coloured deeply, and exhibited the most extraordinary 
agitation. I confess I was at first confounded ; for 
although I perceived that in her enthusiasm she feared 
that I had endangered my dear boy's welfare by express- 
ing my opinion of his health, and that she earnestly 
desired I should avert my calamity by doing as she 
directed at the moment, I was not at all disposed to bless 
the Prophet; but I endeavoured to quiet her apprehen- 
sions by repeating in Eastern phraseology " Praise be to 
God for the health of my family, " and " If it please God 
may it continue." Finding me calmly and gravely en- 
deavouring to convince her that the English do not fear 
expressing their satisfaction in the welfare of those they 
love, she became more tranquil, but I do not think she 
felt reassured. By saying " O God, bless our Lord Mo- 
hammad !" the effect of the evil eye is believed to be 
prevented ; and it is not a little singular, that my friend 
feared the effect of my own admiring eye, upon my own 
child. 

It is very difficult for a stranger, like myself, to avoid 

making mistakes in various other ways. For example, I 

heard footsteps on the stairs leading to our terrace a few 

days since, and beckoned a maid, who was passing, that 

15 



170 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

she might inquire for me who was gone up stairs, when, 
to my astonishment, she ran from me immediately ; and 
though I called her by name, and induced her to look 
round, she saw me again beckoning with my hand, and 
continued her flight. Annoyed at what appeared to be 
perverseness, I clapped my hands, and she at once re- 
turned. "Why did you run away when I beckoned 
you ?" said I. " Because," replied she, " you made a 
signal to me to go away." That is, I turned towards her 
the back of my hand. Had I reversed the position, or 
beckoned with the palm downwards, she would have 
understood that I wanted her ; as it was, she supposed 
that she was to run away as fast as possible. 

I do not remember that I mentioned to you the uncouth 
dresses that are worn here at this season of the year by 
the ladies of the higher classes. When I pay an unex- 
pected visit to such persons, I generally find most of 
them in quilted jackets of a description as little becoming 
as can be imagined, or enveloped in any warm covering 
that they have at hand. Their rooms are warmed by 
means of the brazier, which produces a close and suffo- 
cating smell, such as I cannot easily endure ; and, in- 
deed, I seldom feel much occasion for a fire. The weather 
is now really delightful ; but it has not been so uniformly 
since the commencement of winter. As in the cases of 
most travellers, our residence here has been marked by 
peculiarities. The extraordinary inundation of last year, 
and the heavy rain of this, are events which have had no 
precedents on record during the lives of the present gene- 
ration. After wishing for occasional showers during 
eight months in vain, not a drop of rain falling, we had 
on the thirtieth of October a tremendous storm of rain, 
attended with thunder and lightning, and one almost con- 
tinuous peal of thunder lasted two hours, rattling and 
rolling in a most awful manner, while the rain fell in 
torrents ; but on the first of last month, the rain was 
still more copious : it poured through the roofs and 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 171 

ceilings ; and we and our servants during" the storm were 
seeking dry corners in which to deposit cushions, mat- 
trasses, and other furniture ; and were running hither 
and thither to remove them as the water gained upon us. 
Our house is extremely well-built for Cairo, and yet, in 
the upper rooms, pretty smart showers fell through the 
ceilings for some time after the storm abated, and only 
one room in the house escaped the general flooding. Our 
poor neighbours suffered severely, and fearful has been 
the illness which has ensued ; indeed, the inhabitants are 
still feeling lamentably the effects of that tremendous 
storm. Many houses have fallen in consequence of it ; 
and others have been greatly injured. The roofs, in many 
instances, are seldom plastered with any thing better 
than mud, but simply composed of planks and strong 
beams, on which coarse matting is laid ; and often over 
all only rubbish is strewed to preserve the matting from 
being blown away : therefore the showers which penetrate 
these roofs sometimes become showers of mud, to the 
destruction of furniture. Rain, however, seldom falls in 
this part excepting in the cooler season, when a few 
showers occur, and those are generally light, 



172 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER XXI. 

January, 1844. 
My dear Friend, 

I was presented yesterday to Nezleh Hanum, by my 
friend Mrs. Sieder. My reception was remarkably flat- 
tering, and perhaps unusually so, because it took place in 
her bedroom. I was not aware that she was suffering 
from severe indisposition when I called at the Kasr ed- 
Dubarah, and would not have intruded when I was in- 
formed that this was the case ; but when she heard that I 
had arrived, she expressed her desire to see me as soon as 
her two physicians, then in attendance, should have quit- 
ted her chamber. Her highness is the eldest daughter of 
the Pasha, and therefore holds the highest rank among 
the ladies of Egypt. I have before said that she is the 
widow of the Deftardar Mohammad Bey. 

While we were sitting in one of the rooms opening into 
the saloon, the curtain before our door was suddenly- 
closed ; for the physicians were passing. In a few minutes 
the curtain was withdrawn, and I was conducted to the 
presence of her highness. She was supported by pillows, 
and evidently suffering much from cough and oppression 
of the chest. She received me with much affability, and 
at once requested me to sit by her side on a raised divan, 
which I imagine is her bed. Low divans surrounded the 
room, and the pavement was covered with a Turkey car- 
pet. It had in no respect the character of a bedroom, 
but rather that of a luxuriously furnished Turkish winter 
sitting-.room. It opens into a noble saloon, over that which 
I formerly described to you. I found the youngest son of 
the Pasha, Mohammad 'Alee Bey, sitting on a cushion at 
the feet of his sister, Nezleh Hanum ; and finding me to 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 173 

be unacquainted with Turkish, he politely conversed with 
me in French. He is nine years of age, and in a few 
months will be considered beyond the hareem age. His 
mother, and other ladies, sat on my left hand. Thus I 
saw, on the one hand, a lady about fifty years of age — the 
daughter of the Pasha, and on the other, a very lovely 
young woman, step-mother to her highness, the wife of her 
father, and the mother of her little brother. 

Her highness, in features, and especially in her eyes, 
bears a strong resemblance to her father, having a coun- 
tenance full of intelligence, and capable of the most varied 
expression ; generally quick and searching in glance ; but 
often beaming upon me with the sweetest smile imagina- 
ble. She directed one of the Pasha's favourites, the mother 
of two of his children, to wait upon me.* This lady re- 
ceived the coffee from another at the entrance of the cham- 
ber, and handed it to me in an exquisite gold zarf, richly 
set with rows of large and small diamonds, arranged spi- 
rally, and ornamented between the rows w T ith most deli- 
cate enamel. Yesterday was the fourth day of the Great 
'Eed, or Great Beiram (the latter of the two principal an- 
nual festivals of the Muslims), and a day appropriated to 
visits of ceremony to her highness by those ladies who 
have access to her ; the three preceding days having been 
spent by them in visiting the tombs of relations and 
friends. While I was sitting with her, many ladies came 
in to pay their respects to her ; but in consequence of her 
illness, they were simply dressed, with the exception of 
one lady, who was most splendidly attired. She had on 
the back of her head a profusion of diamonds, and wore a 
long orange-coloured Cashmere jubbeh, richly embroider- 
ed, and forming, as she walked, a glittering train of gold. 
She only kissed the border of her highness's robe, and left 
the room without speaking ; none of her visiters did more 
than kiss her hand ; nor did any one of them speak a 

* She has lost both her children. 
15* 



] 74 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

single word ; neither did Nezleh Hanum take any notice 
of their salutation, otherwise than by allowing them to 
take her hand. This etiquette, I am informed, is not 
only observed during her illness, but at all times. The 
visiters never raised their eyes ; and here I felt peculiarly 
the advantage of being an Englishwoman, for^she kept up 
with me a lively conversation, and really treated me as an 
equal. With true Eastern politeness, her highness assured 
me that our presence made her feel really well ; and beg- 
ged I would consider her house my own; using every 
persuasion to induce us to prolong our visit. Sherbet was 
handed to us in deep purple cups, exceedingly elegant 
and containing a very delicious beverage. I need only 
say of the sherbet and coffee covers, and the napkins, that 
they were as splendid as the most exquisite embroidery 
could render them ; but I must notice her higlmess's pipes. 
The mouthpieces were most tastefully adorned with bril- 
liants, set in rich patterns, and the silk covering* of each 
was elaborately decorated with embroidery. She smoked 
incessantly ; but was the only lady in the room who did 
so. By the way, I have become quite reconciled to sitting 
among those who smoke, for the scent of the tobacco used 
by the ladies here is extremely mild, and quite unlike 
what offends my sex so much in England. 

Nezleh Hanum requested me three times to remain 
when I proposed leaving her ; and when at length I urged 
that I must depart, as it was near sunset, she bade me 
farewell in the most flattering terms she could employ. 
On quitting her chamber, I found the lady next in rank 
to her who handed me the coffee and sherbet, waiting with 
another cup of sherbet for me to take en passant. I men- 
tion this because it is always intended as a distinguishing 
mark of honour. Several ladies accompanied us to the 
door, and the treasurer followed me with the present of an 
embroidered handkerchief from her highness. 

Do not think me egotistical, because I describe thus 
minutely my reception : I consider it important in a dc- 



THE ExNGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 175 

scription of manners, especially as the receiving and pay- 
ing" visits is the every-day business of an Eastern lady ; 
and by thus entering into detail, I hope to give an idea of 
the extreme politeness which characterises those with 
whom I am acquainted. I may also add, that I think it 
due to the hareem of the Pasha, and others of distinction, 
to show the respect they manifest towards the English. 
Were I a person of rank, there would be nothing remark- 
able in the honourable attentions I receive ; but as a pri- 
vate lady, I confess they are exceedingly beyond my 
anticipations. On quitting the Kasr, my attention was 
attracted by one of the most perfect visions of loveliness I 
have had the gratification of seeing, in the person of a 
white slave-girl about seventeen years of age. She stood 
leaning her head against the doorway, while the line of 
beauty was described to perfection in the grace of her atti- 
tude : her complexion was delicately fair; and her hair 
and eyes were neither of them dark, but of that gentle 
shade of brown which harmonizes so charmingly with a 
fair complexion. I cannot minutely describe her features ; 
for there is a perfection of beauty which defies descrip- 
tion, and such was hers. There was an expression of 
melancholy on her sweet countenance, and something so 
impressive in her appearance, that those who have seen 
her once cannot forget her. 

I fear that I shall not soon receive my summons to the 
wedding in the Pasha's hareem. There seems to be some 
cause for delay which I do not know ; and it is a subject 
respecting which I cannot, consistently with politeness, 
ask any questions of those who are able to give me the 
desired information ; but a cousin of the Sultan told me, 
a few days ago, with the utmost gravity, in allusion to 
to this affair, that there remained one point unsettled, 
namely, the choice of a bridegroom I Every thing else 
was arranged. Among the great, in this part of the 
world, the wishes of a daughter who is to be given away 
in marriage seem to be very seldom considered. She is 



176 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

nourished and brought up in the expectation of a day 
when she will be delivered over by her parents to the pro- 
tection of a husband, a stranger to her both in person and 
in mind. You may well wonder that such conduct can 
be tolerated in any land ; and may sigh for those helpless 
women who are disposed of in this manner ; but the reform 
of such a practice, under present circumstances, is impos- 
sible ; for I am perfectly confirmed in my opinion that the 
women themselves would shrink with horror at the pro- 
posal to make an intended husband personally acquainted 
with his wife before the marriage. 

Marriages among the middle classes in this city are 
often conducted with much display of a most singular 
kind. A bridal procession, which passed a few days ago 
through the principal streets in our neighbourhood, was 
headed by a fool, or buffoon, who, mounted on a horse, 
and attired in the most grotesque manner, with a high 
pointed cap, and a long false beard, performed a variety 
of ridiculous antics. Two men upon camels, each beating 
a pair of kettle-drums, of enormous but unequal dimen- 
sions, attached to the saddles, immediately followed the 
fool. Then came a man bearing a cresset, formed of a 
long pole, having at the top several receptacles for naming 
wood, which were covered with embroidered handker- 
chiefs. This cresset, the proper use of which is to serve 
as a light at night, was thus used merely for display. 
Next came a man on tall stilts, and two swordsmen gaily 
attired in cloth of gold, brandishing drawn swords, and 
occasionally engaging in a mock fight. The swordsmen 
were succeeded by two dancing men, and these by vocal 
and instrumental musicians, singing and playing with the 
utmost vigour. Then followed rive boys, each about five 
or six years of age, attired in female apparel of the richest 
description, heavy with gold, and decorated with a profu- 
sion of women's ornaments composed of gold and costly 
jewels, which dazzled the sight. These boys were being 
paraded previously to circumcision; and each of them 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 177 

partly covered his face with a folded embroidered hand- 
kerchief, to guard against the evil eye. They were fol- 
lowed by four women, whose office had been to summon 
the female friends to the wedding. Each of these, who, 
like all who followed them, were on foot, had a rich piece 
of cloth of gold thrown over her left shoulder, with the 
edges attached together on her right side. The pieces of 
cloth were presents which they had received. About 
thirty young girls, all veiled and handsomely dressed, and 
then about the same number of married ladies (the latter 
of whom, enveloped in their black silk habarahs, looked, 
to the eye of a European, as if they were attired for a 
funeral rather than for a wedding) followed next; and 
then came the bride. She was entirely covered by a rich 
Cashmere shawl, as usual ; but upon that part of it which 
covered her head-dress and bridal crown were attached 
such splendid jewelled ornaments as are seldom seen ex- 
cept in the hareems of grandees. Attended by two female 
relations, one on each side of her, followed by others, and 
preceded by a woman, who walked backwards, constantly 
fanning her (notwithstanding the coldness of the weather) 
with a large fan of black ostrich-feathers, she walked 
under a canopy of yellow gauze, supported by four poles, 
at the upper ends of which were attached embroidered 
handkerchiefs. Behind this walked a band of musicians. 
The whole was like one of those scenes described in the 
Thousand and One Nights ; so gay, so brilliant, and so 
strikingly Eastern. The procession advanced almost as 
slowly as a tortoise. 

While on the subject of processions and marriage, I 
may mention a late ridiculous occurrence, arising out of 
a matrimonial case. Four lawyers of our neighbourhood 
were last week condemned to hard labour, and paraded 
through the streets on asses, with their faces towards the 
tails, for illegal conduct in a suit respecting a refractory 
wife. In illustration of their offence, I may remind you 
of a case, which I heard referred for judgment to our 



178 THE ENGLISHWOMAN' IN EGYPT. 

neighbour Deborah ; that of a young man who agreed to 
take as his bride a girl reported to have but one eye, be- 
cause she was a person of property. He did take her, and 
expended an extravagant sum upon the wedding festivi- 
ties ; but the affair did not end as he expected. He found 
his wife to be about thirteen years of age, a little delicate 
child ; but possessing some spirit ; for she positively and 
obstinately refused to acknowledge him as her husband. 
Having been legally married, he could only divorce her, 
or cause her to be registered as refractory; and he 
adopted the latter course ; in consequence of which he is 
not obliged to support the girl, her family doing so until 
she shall resign herself to him. Cases of this kind are of 
frequent occurrence, and though it often happens that a 
woman twenty years of age submits without a murmur to 
be married to a man of threescore, a girl who has not long 
passed the commencement of her 4t teens" very seldom 
will accept a husband whose chin shows him to be a 
man. 



LETTER XXII. 

February, 1844. 
My dear Friend, 

My brother's account of the hareem, and all that he 
has written respecting the manners and customs of the 
women of this country, I have found to be not only mi- 
nutely accurate, but of the utmost value to me in prepa- 
ring me for the life which I am now leading. His infor- 
mation, however, on these subjects, being derived only 
from other men, is, of course, imperfect; and he has 
anxiously desired that I should supply its deficiencies, 
both by my own personal observation, and by learning as 
much as possible of the state, and morals of the women, 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 179 

and of the manner in which they are treated, from their 
own mouths. 

When my experience with respect to the hareem was 
much shorter as to time, and more limited as to its ob- 
jects, than it has now been, I was unwilling to express to 
you an opinion with which I was forcibly, impressed 
within a few months after my arrival in this country ; 
that a very large proportion of the men, and not a few of 
the women, are frequently, and almost habitually, guilty 
of the most abominable acts of cruelty and oppression. 
Though I have seen much that is amiable in the persons 
with whom I am acquainted here, the opinion above ex- 
pressed has been so frequently and strongly confirmed 
that I cannot withstand the conviction of its being cor- 
rect. 

The wives and female slaves, in the houses of the 
higher orders, are generally, if I may judge from what I 
have seen and heard, treated by the husband and master 
with much kindness ; and the condition of the slaves 
seems to be, in one respect, preferable to that of the 
wives ; as the latter are often in constant fear of being 
divorced ; while the sale of a slave, who has been long in 
a family, unless on account of pecuniary distress, is 
reckoned highly disreputable ; and if she have borne a 
child to her master, and he acknowledge it to be his own, 
to sell her is illegal. But among the middle and lower 
classes, both wives and female slaves are often treated 
with the utmost brutality ; the former are often cruelly 
beaten; and the latter, not unfrequently, beaten to 
death ! 

A neighbour of ours, a few weeks ago, flogged his wife 
in a most barbarous manner, and turned her out of doors, 
because his supper was not ready precisely at the time 
appointed. Two days after, however, he brought her 
back. The same man, not long since, beat a female 
slave so severely, that she lingered in great pain for about 
a week, and then died. This man is a Copt, by profes- 



180 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

sion a Christian ! Another man beat one of his female 
slaves until she threw herself from a window, and 
thus killed herself on the spot. This man also is of the 
same profession ! Much are they mistaken who say 
" What need is there of missionaries here to instruct the 
Copts, who are a Christian people ?" One who knows 
them well assures me that their moral state is far worse 
than that of the Muslims ; that in the conduct of the latter 
there is much more Christianity than is exhibited in that 
of the former. But the remarks which I am making 
apply to both the Muslims and the nominal Christians, 
but to these are more extensively applicable. How sad 
that the duty of regarding truth should oblige me to make 
such a distinction ! 

The English Institution in this city, the chief object of 
which is to introduce among the Copts that sound know- 
ledge which is the first requisite to improve their reli- 
gious and moral condition, I look upon as one of the most 
useful of all the establishments of the Missionary Society. 
The accounts of it which have appeared in the publica- 
tions of that Society have scarcely shown its full import- 
ance ; for this cannot be duly appreciated by any one 
who does not know by experience the state of the people 
whom it is designed to benefit, and the admirable judg- 
ment and indefatigable and self-denying zeal with which 
its objects are pursued. Connected with this Institution 
is a chapel, sufficiently large and very commodious and 
comfortable, where I am thankful to have opportunities 
to join in the service of our Church, and to hear many an 
excellent sermon. But I must return from this digres- 
sion, to resume the subject which occasioned it. 

Seldom do many days elapse without our hearing the 
most piteous screams from women and children suffering 
under the whip or stick ; and much trouble do we expe- 
rience in our endeavours to stop the barbarities practised 
in our immediate neighbourhood. The answer usually 
returned to our messages of reproach on these occasions 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 181 

are of the most civil kind, assuring" us, with many saluta- 
tions, that, for our sakes, the offender shall be forgiven. I 
believe that the cruelty which now seems so common 
may, in some degree, be attributed to the oppression which 
its exercisers themselves suffer ; for every one who has 
studied the human mind will agree with me, that, with 
few exceptions, the oppressed become the hardest of op- 
pressors. 

The women generally seem full of kind and tender 
feeling, although (as I have remarked) there are not a few 
instances of the reverse, and lately we have been dis- 
tressed by the conduct of two women, our near neigh- 
bours. The one, old Deborah, whom I mentioned to you 
in a former letter, has so cruelly beaten a little girl who 
lives with her, on three or four occasions, that we have 
taken the poor child into our house each time until she 
has, by her own choice, returned, when her cruel mis- 
tress, who is said to be her grandmother, has promised us 
not to repeat her violence. 

The other was a more distressing case. A woman re- 
siding in a house adjoining our own had lost seven 
piastres, and discovering that a little grandson had stolen 
them, she sent for a man, by profession a beater, to chas- 
tise him. One of my boys heard this ; and finding that 
by mounting a little ladder he could reach a window com- 
manding the court of this woman's house, he did so, and 
immediately called to tell me that the report was a true 
one ; that the man ha j arrived, and was tying the arms 
and legs of the poor child ; but that his grandmother was 
standing by him. That being the case, I assured my 
boy that her only object could be to frighten the child by 
confining his limbs, and that I felt certain she could not 
suffer him to be hurt. I formed this opinion from my 
love for the grandmothers of England, whose children's 
children are the crown and glory of their age. Alas ! for 
my mistake in supposing this Arab possessed the feelings 
of woman's nature ! I hardly left the foot of the ladder, 
16 



182 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

when I was recalled by the screams of my own dear 
child, who was crying and scolding in an agony of dis- 
tress ; for the man in the court below was beating the 
limbs, the back, the chest of the poor little boy, as in 
writhing and rolling on the ground each part fell under 
the dreadful blows of a ponderous stick, while between 
each infliction the old woman cried " again !" This bru- 
tality could not be suffered, and my brother instantly 
sent one of our servants with such a threat of vengeance 
if they did not immediately desist, that the child was at 
once released, and quiet was restored to our house, but 
not tranquillity to our minds. This same wretched 
woman periodically laments the loss of her son, the father 
of this child, and fills the air with her discordant Waitings 
regularly every alternate Monday. She has always been 
to us a most annoying neighbour, and is the more so now 
that we know the hypocrisy of her lamentations. 

The Muslim ceremonies that have reference to the dead 
are, however, generally very interesting ; and their wail- 
ings would always be deeply affecting, were they always 
sincere, and not confined to stated periods ; for they seem 
to express the most intense, heart-breaking, despairing 
grief. The art of wailing in the most approved style ap- 
pears to be an accomplishment that can only be acquired 
by long practice ; and regular professors of it are usually 
hired on the occasion of the death of a person of the mid- 
dle or higher classes. These accompany their lamenta- 
tions with a tambourine, and occasionally interrupt their 
screams by plaintive songs. Their performances, and 
those of the female mourners in general, are such as were 
practised in most remote ages ; such as we see pourtrayed 
upon the walls of the ancient Egyptian tombs, and such 
as are mentioned in many parts of the Holy Scriptures ; 
as in 2 Chron. xxxv. 25 ; Jerem. ix. 18 ; Amos v. 16; and 
St. Matt. ix. 23 ; vividly bringing to mind " the minstrels 
and the people making a noise" for the death of the daugh- 
ter of Jairus. As illustrative of the Bible, these and other 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 183 

Eastern customs are to me most especially interesting-. 
" Consider ye," says Jeremiah, exhorting- his countrymen 
to bewail their disobedience, " and call for the mourning 
women, that they may come : and send for the cunning- 
women, that they may come : and let them make haste, 
and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down 
with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters :" and 
by the same means the feelings of a mourning Eastern 
family seem to be most powerfully excited in the present 
day, for, in general, the most piercing cries and screams 
that I hear, on account of a death, are those which inter- 
rupt the lamentations of the hired mourner, who is " cun- 
ning" in her art. The cemeteries in the neighbourhood 
of Cairo are among the most picturesque of the various 
scenes which surround us ; and in these are many private 
burial-grounds, each belonging to one family, who, if of 
sufficient wealth, have within its walls a house of mourn- 
ing. To this house the females of the family regularly 
repair at the period of each of the two great annual festi- 
vals, as well as on extraordinary ones, to bewail their 
dead ; having previously sent thither such furntiture as 
is necessary for their comfort ; and there they remain, on 
the occasions of the two festivals above mentioned, and 
immediately after a death, three or more days and nights. 
Some of the houses of mourning are pretty and cheerful- 
looking buildings, and enlivened by a few trees and 
flowers ; and I believe that the women often find no small 
pleasure in visiting them ; their life being in general so 
monotonous. Some women, who have not houses in the 
burial-ground for their reception, have tents pitched for 
them when requisite. 

Yesterday we spent some hours at the Southern ceme- 
tery, which is adjacent to the city, but within the confines 
of the desert; and were much interested in examining the 
tombs of the family of Mohammad 'Alee. The tombs in 
the cemetery exhibit a strange mixture of various tastes 
and dimensions ; some are in perfect repair, substantially 



184 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

and well built ; others are of more fragile kinds ; though 
many of the smaller monuments are composed entirely of 
white marble ; but the most picturesque are the most an- 
cient ; displaying exquisite taste in their general forms, 
and more especially in their domes and minarets, and 
their arabesque decorations ; these are of yellow lime- 
stone, here and there relieved by columns of white marble. 
The building containing the tombs of the Pasha's family 
is surmounted by several domes, but is low, and in no re- 
spect deserving of much admiration. How can I tell you 
of the cheerful appearance of the interior ? Two noble 
saloons are filled with tombs at nearly equal distances : 
these are cased w T ith white marble, and most gorgeously 
decorated with gilded and painted carved work. The 
floors are covered with beautiful carpets, and the scene 
has at once a complete air of gaiety and comfort. It has 
little that can lead the mind to the reflection that this is 
the resting-place of the dead. Such a variety of gay co- 
lours, and such varied forms meet the eye, that if the con- 
sciousness intrude that it is a sepulchral building, it is 
soon banished by the speculation as to which tombs may 
be considered more splendid than those around them. We 
generally gave the preference to that of the mother of 
Nezleh Hanum, and of Mohammad Bey Deftardar : the 
latter, I think, bears the palm. 

The tombs are generally about eight feet long, and four 
high ; and on the top of these is placed an oblong slab, 
about a foot thick : the upright slabs at the head and feet 
are eight or ten feet high ; and on that at the head is a 
representation of the head-dress of the deceased, carved 
in stone, and painted. There are four unoccupied tombs 
in the principal saloon, raised, but not decorated. The 
embellishments altogether are such as only suit saloons 
appropriated to festivity. Turkish taste is ill calculated 
for decorating the abodes of the living, and does not apply 
at all where quiet and solemn effect is indispensable. It 
is not so with regard to Arabian taste : the Turkish is 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 185 

gaudy and florid : the Arabian is chaste and elegant, as 
much in domestic architecture as in the construction and 
decoration of sepulchres and mosques. 

I felt that I could at any time spend a day in the sa- 
loons above mentioned, admiring the beauties of the place, 
with much personal comfort, and without the frequent 
intrusion of any melancholy reflection. 

In a charming house, adjoining the tombs, appropriated 
to the use of the hareem of the keeper, we paid his ladies 
a visit, and were welcomed with true Eastern hospitality. 
The chief lady, who was handsomely attired in scarlet 
cloth, embroidered with gold, is a kind agreeable person, 
but wofully mistaken in her manner of training the dis- 
positions of children. Two little babies belonging to the 
hareem were brought in to show us : the eldest, a boy, 
could just walk ; and as soon as he made his appearance, 
the chief lady called for a stick, that puss, who was quietly 
crossing the carpet, might be beaten for his amusement. 
Not being aware that the beating was not to be in earnest, 
I interceded for the cat ; when my acquaintance replied 
mysteriously, " I like her very much, I will not hurt her." 
Accordingly, she raised her arm with considerable effort, 
and let it fall gently. She next desired one of her slaves 
to kneel, which the girl did most gracefully, and bent her 
head with an air of mock submission, to receive the kur- 
baj ; and the same farce was performed. Though neither 
slave nor cat was a sufferer on the occasion, the effect 
mast have been equally bad on the mind of the child. 
Alas ! for the slaves and cats when he is big enough to 
make them feel ! 



16* 



186 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 



LETTER XXIII. 

My dear Friend, 

Although so many have written of the pyramids, and a 
new description cannot fail to have something- of the cha- 
racter of an often repeated tale, I find much that I must 
say respecting these stupendous monuments, the greatest, 
perhaps, of the Wonders of the World, which have been 
objects of our curiosity and astonishment even in the age 
of childhood, and the sight of which forms an era in one's 
life. I will, however, as much as possible, avoid troubling 
you with a repetition of what you have read, or may read, 
on this subject, in the works of various travellers. 

Having arranged that, during our visit, we should 
spend our days in a sepulchral grotto, and our nights in 
a tent, we set out on this agreeable excursion with the 
most pleasing anticipations. The illusion so general in 
the East with regard to distance, occasioned by the extra- 
ordinary clearness of the atmosphere, is strikingly demon- 
strated in approaching the pyramids ; it is very remarka- 
ble that the nearer we approached the objects of our 
destination, the less grand and imposing did they appear. 
From their aspect, as I first drew near to them, I should 
have formed a very inadequate idea of their dimensions. 
As soon as we had crossed the river they appeared within 
a mile of us ; and after we had proceeded more than a 
league from ELGeezeh, I could scarcely believe that we 
w^ere still a full league from the pyramids ; for the distance 
to them from El-Geezeh, by the route which we took, is 
more than six miles, though it is just five miles in a direct 
line. When we arrived within a mile of the pyramids, 
the illusion became greater : the courses of stone were 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 187 

then plainly discernible, and it was easy to calculate that 
they were not more in number than the courses of brick 
in a house about fifty or sixty feet high. These presented 
a scale by which the eye was much deceived in estimating- 
the altitude of the structure ; being unaccustomed to the 
sight of stones of such enormous magnitude employed in 
building. But neither of these causes would be sufficient 
to produce such an illusion if there were any neighbour- 
ing object with which the pyramids might be contrasted. 
I was fully convinced of this when I arrived at the base 
of the great pyramid. It was then curious to observe 
how distant appeared those places where I had thought 
myself nearly at my journey's end. The clearness of the 
air would have deceived me then, as before ; but I was 
looking at objects less strange to me ; such as palm-trees, 
villages, and the tents of Arabs. 

A conspicuous object as we approached the pyramids 
was an old ruined causeway, most probably a part of that 
which was built by Kara-Koosh for the convenience of 
transporting stones from the pyramids to Cairo, when he 
constructed the citadel, and third wall of that city ; and 
this portion may have been raised on the ruins of that 
which Herodotus describes, as the more ancient cause- 
way was raised for the purpose of facilitating the con- 
veyance of stones from the quarries on the eastern side 
of the Nile to the site of the Great Pyramid, to line the 
passages of that structure, and perhaps to case its ex- 
terior. 

When we were at least a mile from our journey's end, 
I remarked to my brother, " The pyramids do not appear 
so grand as I expected now we are almost close to them." 
" Almost close to them !" replied he ; " wait a little, and 
then tell me what you think." Accordingly we rode on ; 
the provoking appearance of nearness to the objects of 
our visit surprising me during our whole approach. At 
this season it occupies three hours to reach the pyramids 
irom Cairo, and this month, on account of its coolness, is 



188 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

particularly agreeable for such an excursion. A kind 
friend, Mr. Bonomi, well known for the length of time he 
has spent in this country, and his extensive acquaintance 
with its monuments, was staying at the pyramids, and 
prepared for us a tent, and another comfortable place of 
abode, an ancient sepulchral grotto in a rock, which latter 
has served as the foundation of a pyramid, now for the 
most part destroyed. This excavation we found ample 
and airy, having three large square apertures, serving us 
as windows, besides the entrance. Oar tent was pitched 
near it, our carpets spread, and our home in the desert 
had an air of comfort I had hardly anticipated. There 
is much that is homeish in carrying one's own carpet : 
place it where you will, in the boat or in the desert, your 
eyes rest upon it while thinking, and its familiar patterns 
afford a sort of welcome. The habit of placing the seg- 
gadeh (a small carpet) on the saddle enables an Eastern 
lady to take it wherever she may wander. When she is 
disposed to rest, her attendants spread it ; and nothing is 
more refreshing during a desert excursion than to rest 
upon it, and take a simple meal of bread and fruit, and a 
draught of delicious Nile water. 

As soon as possible after our arrival, we mounted the 
rock on which the pyramids are built, and there observed 
the effect I have described with regard to the objects we 
had passed on our way. From the brightness of their 
colour, apparently little changed by the thousands of 
years that have passed since their erection, the pyramids 
do not appear venerable : there is an appearance of fresh- 
ness about them which amazed me : but with regard to 
their wonderful magnitude, I found that I was no longer 
disappointed when I had ascended the rocky elevation on 
Which they rest : when I was within a few yards of the 
base of the Great Pyramid, I was enabled to the full to 
comprehend its vastness. 

We lingered late among the objects of our visit, and 
were interested in observing the enormous shadows of 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 189 

the two greater pyramids, stretching- across the cultivated 
plain to the river, as the sun was setting. The general 
view from the rocky eminence on which they are built is 
the most imposing that can be conceived. 

Returning to our grotto, we enjoyed our evening meal 
with the appetite of desert travellers, and went to rest 
with our minds impressed by reflections on what we had 
seen, and by the novelty of our situation. 

We were not the only dwellers in tombs during our 
stay near the pyramids ; for a row of sepulchral excava- 
tions, which Colonel Vyse and his party occupied in 
1837, are now inhabited by a Nubian, who has taken 
possession of them to afford lodgings (for a small remu- 
neration) to travellers. Also at a short distance from our 
grotto, an Arab had taken up his abode in a similar but 
better tomb. Living there as a hermit, he is esteemed a 
saint b)' the people of the neighbouring villages, and is 
supported entirely by casual charity. Very probably he 
has adopted the life of an anchorite because he is idle, 
and finds it easier to depend on others than to gain his 
own bread. It is common to see the Arabs on their way 
to leave a deposit of bread or other food, and sometimes 
money, with this recluse, more especially on Friday, 
when he receives numerous visiters. 

My brother, during a long visit to the pyramids in 
1825, occupied one of the tombs of which the Nubian 
has now taken possession. They are excavated in the 
eastern front of the rocky eminence on which stands the 
Great Pyramid. At that time a family consisting of a 
little old man (named 'Alee) his wife (who was not half 
his equal in age) and a little daughter, occupied a neigh- 
bouring grotto ; guarding some antiquities deposited there 
by Caviglia. Besides these, my brother had no nearer 
neighbours than the inhabitants of a village about a mile 
distant. The Sheykh 'Alee made himself useful in 
bringing water from a well which Caviglia had dug in 
the sandy plain, just at the foot of the slope before the 



190 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

grottoes. He was a poor half-witted creature, but pos- 
sessed strong feelings, as was exemplified by an occur- 
rence which happened during my brother's stay at the 
pyramids. One afternoon, his cook had sent old 'Alee's 
little girl to the neighbouring village to purchase some 
tobacco. The child not having returned by sunset my 
brother became uneasy, and despatched a servant to 
search for her, and bring her back. 'Alee had also be- 
come anxious, and had sent his wife for the same pur- 
pose ; but when the night had closed in, and he had 
received no tidings of the little girl, he became almost 
frantic : he beat his breast, stamped on the ground, and 
continued for some time incessantly screaming, " Ya 
Mebrookeh ! ya Mebrookeh !" (the name of the child, 
signifying blessed.) After my brother had endeavoured 
for a little while to pacify him, he set off towards the 
village. About five minutes more elapsed, and my brother 
was sitting before the grotto, wondering that no one 
had returned, and that not even his two Bedawee guards 
had come as usual, when he was alarmed by loud and 
piteous cries in the desert plain before him. Leaving a 
servant in the grotto — for a strange youth was there — 
my brother ran towards the spot whence the voice 
seemed to issue. As it was dark, he could see nothing ; 
but after he had proceeded some distance, he heard the 
following words repeated very rapidly over and over 
again. "I testify that there is no deity but God, and I 
testify that Mohammad is God's apostle;" — and soon he 
found poor old 'Alee lying on the ground. He told my 
brother that an 'efreet (or demon) had seized him by the 
throat, and thrown sand into his mouth, and that he was 
almost suffocated. (It seems that the Arabs are subject 
to a spasm in the throat, which they attribute to the 
above cause.) The two Bedawees, in the meantime, 
whom the servant and 'Alee's wife had engaged to assist 
them in their search, had found the child, and were, like 
my brother, drawn to that spot by the old man's cries. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 191 

They helped him to walk back, but the poor creature 
had been so terrified and distressed, that for several days 
after he was quite idiotic. 

On the second day after my brother had taken up his 
quarters at the pyramids, a young Bedawee — the stranger 
I have mentioned — claimed from him the rights of hos- 
pitality. He remained with him until he quitted his 
sepulchral abode, and, being a very clever and witty 
youth, amused him exceedingly, every evening while he 
was smoking his pipe, by reciting stories and verses 
from the popular romance of 'Aboo-Zeyd : but at the 
same time he gave much offence to my brother's Egyp- 
tian servants, by his contempt of the fellaheen (or 
peasants). He had deserted from the Pasha's army of 
regular troops, as he frankly confessed ; and was afraid 
to enter the villages, lest he should be recognised, and 
sent to the camp. When my brother was leaving the 
pyramids, he asked this young man what he would now 
do for provision, as he dared not enter the villages. He 
replied, " Who brought you here ? God is bountiful." 

On the occasion of our visit to the pyramids, my 
brother inquired of our guards if they knew or remem- 
bered poor old 'Alee, to which one of them replied that 
he was his son, and that he had been dead for some 
years. He then inquired whether Mebrookeh was living 
— " Yes," answered the man, " she is well and married, 
and the mother of two children." He went on to assure 
my brother he remembered his former visits well, and 
there was something satisfactory in the prospect of being 
guarded by one man, at least, who, for old acquaintance 
sake, might be on the alert. This man, though espe- 
cially remarkable for his honesty, is not distinguished for 
his social virtues — he has married ten wives, and says he 
would marry twenty if he could afford to do so ; asserting 
that although he has divorced several, he has only done 
so because they deserved it, for that they failed in their 
duty to him, notwithstanding his kindness to them. 



192 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT, 

According to his own account, he was always good to 
them ; he never reviled, but only beat them ! The facility 
of divorce is a prodigious evil ; often productive of want 
and misery. It is sadly common to find wives rejected 
for some trifling offence ; when a kind admonition would 
have shown them all that had been amiss in their con- 
duct, and would have rendered them valuable helpmates, 
I grieve to say that wives here are generally divorced 
merely from caprice. 

Our guards, three in number, were remarkably pic- 
turesque objects ; more like Bedawees than like peasants ; 
belonging to a tribe which, not many years ago, exchanged 
the life of desert-wanderers for that of agriculturists ; and 
having retained the dress of their fathers, which consists 
chiefly of a loose shirt, and a kind of blanket, which en- 
velopes the body, and gives to the wearer an appearance 
quite primeval. It was at first amusing but at last very 
tiresome, to hear these men calling to each other during 
the whole night, as though they feared their companions 
might be asleep; their constant repetition of, u Open 
your eyes! open your eyes well!" effectually kept us 
watching also. One guard lay outside the tent, close to 
my head, and amused himself by singing constantly, I 
should have been very happy if something more sub- 
stantial than canvass had separated me from such a 
lively neighbour. We rose in the morning fatigued, but 
the invigorating desert-air soon revived us ; and we set 
out on our adventures with becoming energy. 

The bed of rock on which the Great Pyramid is situ- 
ated is about one hundred and fifty feet above the sandy 
plain which intervenes between it and the cultivated land. 
It is a soft testaceous limestone, abounding particularly 
with those little petrifactions described by Strabo as found 
in great quantities around the pyramids, and supposed to 
be petrified lentils, the leavings of the workmen who 
built the pyramids ! These abound in many parts of the 
chain of mountains by which the valley of the Nile is 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 193 

confined on this side. The stone, when newly cut, is of 
a whitish colour ; but, by exposure to the air, it becomes 
darker, and assumes a yellowish tint. The level parts 
and slopes of the rock are covered with sand and pebbles 
and fragments of stone, among which are found pieces of 
granite and porphyry, rock crystal, agates, and abundance 
of petrified shells, &c. 

The Great Pyramid is that which is described by He- 
rodotus as the work of a Pharaoh named Cheops, whom 
Diodorus Siculus calls Chemmis. Diodorus adds, that some 
attributed this pyramid to a king named Armseus. Ac- 
cording to Manetho (a better authority in that case), it 
was founded by Suphis, the second king of the Fourth 
Dynasty, which was the second dynasty of the Memphite 
kings. 

Colonel Vyse's most interesting discoveries of the hie- 
roglyphic names of the royal founders of the first and 
third pyramids afford remarkable confirmations of the 
truth of the statements of Manetho and others respecting 
these monuments. The name of the founder of the Great 
Pyramid in hieroglyphics, according to the pronunciation 
of different dialects is Shofo, or Khotb ; the former nearly 
agreeing with the Suphis of Manetho, the latter with the 
Cheops of Herodotus. 

The height of the Great Pyramid is not much greater 
than that of the second ; the former having lost several 
ranges at the top ; while the upper part of the latter is 
nearly entire ; but the base of the former is considerably 
larger, though the difference is not very remarkable to 
the eye, and in the solidity and regularity of its con- 
struction, it is vastly superior. 

The pleasure which is felt by the modern traveller in 
surveying the pyramids is not a little increased by the 
consideration of their venerable antiquity, and the reflec- 
tion that many philosophers and heroes of ancient times 
have in like manner stood before them, wrapt in admira- 
tion and amazement. The stupendous magnitude of the 
17 



194 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

Great Pyramid is most clearly apparent when the ob- 
server places himself near one of its angles. The view of 
the pyramid from this point, though the best that can be 
obtained, cannot convey an adequate idea of its size ; for 
a gap in the angle, which appears to be near the summit, 
is not much more than halfway up. Thus greatly is the 
eye deceived by this extraordinary object. 

Each side of the base of the Great Pyramid is seven 
hundred and thirty-three feet square, and the perpendicu- 
lar height is four hundred and fifty-six feet, according to 
my brother's measurement. It consists of two hundred 
and three courses, or layers of stone ; therefore the ave- 
rage height of a single course is about two feet and a 
quarter : but the courses vary in height from about four 
feet to one foot. The lower courses are higher than the 
rest ; and the lowest is hewn out of the solid rock ; as is 
also part of the second. Opposite the angle from which 
my brother's view was taken, about twelve feet distant, is 
a square place, twelve feet in width, and between two and 
three inches in depth ; apparently marking the place of 
the original corner-stone of the pyramid. About the mid- 
dle of each side of the pyramid, the exterior stones have 
been much broken by the masses which have been rolled 
down from above ; but at the angles they are more entire, 
and there, consequently, the ascent is not difficult. The 
upper and lower surfaces of the stones are smoothly cut ; 
but the sides have been left very rough, and in many 
cases, not square : the interstices being filled up with a 
coarse cement, of a pinkish colour. This cement is, in 
some parts, almost as hard as the stone itself; and some- 
times very difficult to detach. Among the dust and small 
fragments of stone which have crumbled away from the 
sides and yet rest upon the upper surfaces of the steps, or 
exterior stones, we find a great number of the small 
petrifactions in the form of lentils, which I have before 
mentioned. 

Dr. Lipsius lately gave, at a meeting of the Egyptian 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 195 

Society in this city, a very interesting account of the 
mode in which the Great Pyramid, and similar monu- 
ments, appear to have been constructed, as suggested by 
Mr. Wild, an English architect, accompanying the Doc- 
tor. The following engraving will explain the descrip- 
tion of the system which appears to have been adopted : — 




A structure of moderate size, a with its sides slightly 
inclining inwards, containing, or covering the sepulchral 
chamber, and with a flat top, was first raised. Then a 
structure, bb, the same height as the former, with its ex- 
terior sides similarly inclined, and its top flat, was raised 
around. Next, another structure, c, was raised on the 
first. Another circumstructure, dd, was raised around 
that marked bb ; then another, ee, around the structure c, 
then another structure, /, upon the latter. After this 
manner, the building probably continued to increase (like 
the royal tombs at Thebes) as long as the founder reigned. 
The structure was finished, as Herodotus says, from the 
top downwards. A small pyramid being constructed on 
the top, occupying the whole of the highest platform, and 
the angles formed by the other platforms, and the sides of 
the structures against which they were built being filled 
up, the simple pyramidal form was made out. The se- 
veral platforms composed convenient ample stages on 
which to raise the massive stones employed in the con- 



196 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

struction. This mode of construction was certainly prac- 
tised in some of the pyramids, and most probably in all, 
excepting those of very small dimensions. That the 
Great Pyramid and others originally presented plane 
sides has been proved by Colonel Vyse. 

On each side of the Great Pyramid is an accumulation 
of fragments of stone and mortar which have fallen dow r n 
from the summit and sides of the building, and have com- 
posed a very compact mass, which rises, in the centre, to 
about fifty feet above the base. The sand of the desert 
has contributed but little to augment these slopes of rub- 
bish, which are nearly of the same height on each side of 
the pyramid. That on the northern side forms a conve- 
nient acclivity to the entrance. 

The ascent to the summit of the Great Pyramid is not 
dangerous, though rather tedious, as the description of the 
exterior must have shown. At, or near, any of the angles, 
there is, on almost every course, or range of stones, a 
secure and wide footing ; but some of the steps are breast- 
high ; and these, of course, are awkward masses to climb. 
I had fully determined to attempt the ascent; but the 
wind was so high during the period of our visit, that I 
dared not do so. On some other occasion I hope to be 
more fortunate. 

Many stones have been thrown down from the top of 
the Great Pyramid, which consequently wants about 
twenty-five feet (or perhaps something more) of its origi- 
nal height ; for, without doubt, it terminated in a point, 
It appears, therefore, that its original height w T as, at the 
least, four hundred and eighty feet. It is worthy of re- 
mark that Diodorus Siculus describes the top of the pyra- 
mid as being six cubits (or nine feet) square ; Pliny states 
it to have been, in his time, twenty-five feet ; or, accord- 
ing to some copies of his w T ork, fifteen feet ; the latter of 
which readings must be considered the more correct. 
Several courses of stone have been throwm dow r n in later 
ages ; so that now, on arriving at the summit, there is a 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 197 

platform thirty-three feet square, upon which, near the 
eastern edge, are a few stones yet remaining of two upper 
courses. Upon these the names of many travellers are- 
cut. The platform is quite flat; the stones being well 
joined and cemented. The ascent to the summit gene- 
rally occupies between fifteen and twenty minutes. 

The view from the summit of the Great Pyramid is de- 
scribed by my brother as being of a most extraordinary 
nature. On the eastern side the eye ranges over an ex- 
tensive verdant plain, watered by numerous canals, and 
interspersed with villages erected upon mounds of rubbish, 
and surrounded by palm-trees. In the distance is the 
Nile ; beyond which are seen the lofty minarets and 
citadel of Cairo, backed by the low yellow range of Mount 
Mukattam. Turning towards the opposite side, the tra- 
veller beholds a scene exactly the reverse: instead of 
palm-groves and corn-fields, he sees only the undulating 
sandy hills of the great Syrian Desert. The view of the 
second pyramid, from this commanding situation, is ex- 
tremely grand. A small portion of the third pyramid is 
also seen ; with one of the small pyramids on its southern 
side. The space which lies on the west of the Great Py- 
ramid, and north of the second, is covered with oblong 
tombs, having the form of truncated pyramids ; which 
from that height appear like patches of gravel. The head 
of the Great Sphinx, and the distant pyramids of Aboo- 
Seer, Sakkarah, and Dahshoor, are seen towards the 
south-southeast. 

About half an hour or more after sunset, the gloom con- 
tributed much to the grandeur and solemnity of the scene. 
On one occasion my brother ascended the Great Pyramid 
about two hours before daybreak, and waited upon ihe 
summit until sunrise. He found it extremely cold, and 
the wind, sweeping up the northern side of the pyramid, 
sounded like a distant cataract. The second pyramid 
was at first faintly discernible, appearing of vastly more 
than even real magnitude. Soon after, its eastern side 
17* 



198 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

was lighted up by the rising moon ; and the effect was 
truly sublime. 

On the second day after he had taken up his quarters 
at the pyramids, during the visit to which I have refer- 
red, he went out without his pistols ; and in the evening 
one of his guards reproved him for having done so, "■ How 
easy," he observed, "would it be for one of our people 
(the Bedawees) to rob you, and, if you resisted, to murder 
you, and throw you down one of the mummy-pits, and 
who would ever know what was become ©f you V On 
the following day he ascended the Great Pyramid alone T 
but not unarmed. While on the summit, he perceived a 
solitary Arab, making towards the pyramid, from the 
west. He began to ascend the southwestern angle ; and 
when he arrived about half-way up, little thinking that 
my brother's telescope was directed towards him, he stop- 
ped, and took out a pistol from a case which was slung by 
his side, looked at it, and then continued the ascent* As 
it was evident that the fellow had no good intentions, my 
brother called to him, and desired him to descend ; but he 
either did not hear him, or would not obey. My brother 
then discharged a pistol, to show him that he was not 
without the means of defence. Upon this, he immediately 
began to return, and, having reached the base, walked 
slowly away into the desert. 

Under the present government, travelers seldom are 
subjected to any danger from the natives in this or any 
other part of Egypt ; but from the crowding and impor- 
tunity of the Arab guides at the pyramids they general!}' 
suffer much annoyance. They are always attended for a 
considerable distance, sometimes even from El-Geezeh, by 
a party of Arabs who are in the habit of extorting money 
from the traveller on the top of the Great Pyramid before 
they will suffer him to descend. A few days ago, a gen- 
tleman of distinction bargained with some of these men 
to attend him to the summit of the Great Pyramid ; and 
when they had done so, they claimed the promised pay- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 201 

ment, saying that they had fulfilled their engagement. 
Being afraid to descend without their aid, he was com- 
pelled to submit to their exactions, and paid them five 
dollars. 

It is pitiable to observe the haste which most of the 
travellers to and from India are obliged to make, if able 
to visit the pyramids at all : some arrived during our stay, 
ran up the Great Pyramid, descended as rapidly, spent a 
few minutes within it, and disappeared in little more than 
an hour.* 



LETTER XXIV. 

February, 1344. 
My dear Friend, 

The entrance of the Great Pyramidf is over the six- 
teenth course, or layer of stone, about fifty feet above the 
base ; a slope of rubbish, as I said before, leading up to it.t 
It is nearly in the centre, or equidistant from either angle 
of the northern side of the pyramid : the eye would hardly 
discover that it is not exactly so ; though really twenty 
feet, or rather more, to the eastward of the centre. The 
opening of the pyramid seems to have been attended with 
considerable difficulty ; a vast number of stones having 
been torn down above and before the aperture. An in- 
clined plain before the entrance forms an angle of twenty - 

* Most visiters to Niagara do the same thing to their 
great loss. From a single hurried visit, the true impres- 
sion of the grandeur of the falls is never obtained ; the 
first impression is almost uniformly that of disappoint- 
ment. — Ed. 

t See b in the accompanying section. 

I See a in the section. 



202 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

six degrees and a half with the horizon, being in the same 
place with the floor of the first passage. The size of the 
stones above the entrance, and the manner in which they 
are disposed, are worthy of remark. There is no granite 
at the entrance of the pyramid ; all the blocks are of lime- 
stone. Before the traveller enters the pyramid, he should 
divest himself of some of his clothes (for the heat of the 
interior is oppressive) and resume them immediately on 
coming out, to prevent any check of perspiration. The 
passage by which we enter the Great Pyramid is only 
four feet high, and three feet six inches (almost exactly 
two ancient Egyptian cubits) in width, and we are conse- 
quently obliged to descend in a crouching position. It is 
lined above and below and on each side with blocks of 
limestone,* of a more compact kind than that of which 
the pyramid is mainly constructed. This superior kind 
of stone appears to have been brought from the quarries 
on the eastern side of the Nile, directly opposite the site 
of Memphis ; for stone of the same quality is not found 
nearer ; and Herodotus, and several other ancient writers, 
inform us that the quarries of the Arabian mountains! 
supplied materials for the construction of the pyramid. 
Indeed, they assert that the pyramid was entirely built of 
stones from these quarries ; but this, evidently, was not 
the case : the stone of which the structure is mainly com- 
posed was quarried from the rock in its neighbourhood. 
The nicety with which the stones are united in the sides 
of the first passage is very remarkable. In some parts 
the joint cannot be discerned without a close and minute 
examination. In the flooring of this passage, and of all 

* Some travellers, their memories deceiving them, have 
described this passage as lined with granite ; others have 
asserted that it is of white marble. 

t The mountains on the east of the Nile are so called 
by ancient Greek and Roman writers, and those on the 
west the " Lybian mountains." 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 203 

the sloping passages in this pyramid, notches have been 
roughly cut, like steps, to prevent the feet from slipping ; 
but I found them very far from producing the desired 
effect, being now polished by the naked feet of the guides. 
These notches have been the work of modern explorers. 
At the distance of nearly seventy feet (measuring from 
the outer surface of the huge block above the entrance) 
we find that one of the stones which form the roofing of 
the passage has been hewn away precisely at the point 
where the second passage branches off in an ascending 
direction (see the letter c in the section). Here we dis- 
cover the square end of a granite block, which closes the 
entrance of the second passage, being exactly fitted to fill 
up the aperture. The persons who opened the pyramid, 
being unable to remove this obstacle, have made a forced 
communication with the ascending passage. At the dis- 
tance of eighty feet (from the entrance of the pyramid) is 
the forced aperture, on the right side of the passage (see 
d in the section). It has been made by hollowing out the 
roofing, and cutting away the upper part of the side of 
the lower passage. 

Here the explorer must light his candle (if he have not 
done so before), and having ascended through this open- 
ing, finds himself in a large place, which appears like a 
natural cavern in a rock. We now see the upper end of 
the granite block before mentioned, or of a second block. 
Above it is another, of which a part has been broken off. 
Above this the passage (e /) is seen clear of other incum- 
brances, running upwards, but in the same southern course 
as the first, or descending passage. It is of the same di- 
mensions as the first, and has the same inclination ; but 
its sides and roofing are very rough, and consequently it 
has the appearance of having been cut through solid 
rock, which is not really the case. It is a hundred and 
nine feet long (measuring from the southernmost of the 
granite blocks above mentioned), and the flooring pro- 
jects a foot and a half in the same direction. The ascent 



204 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

of this passage is rather fatiguing. On emerging from 
it, we find ourselves at the foot of the Grand Passage (see 
f m in the section). 

This great passage, ascending to the principal chain- 
ber, is, in comparison with those which lead to it, wide 
and lofty. Its length being great, and its sides and every 
part of it blackened, as if by smoke, the further extremity 
was invisible to us as we stood at the lower end ; and its 
whole appearance singularly imposing. On our right, as 
we stood here, we observed the entrance, or mouth, of 
what has been called " the well" (g). There we also, at 
the lower end of the Grand Passage, remarked some Ara- 
bic inscriptions, rudely cut with a chisel. These, I be. 
lieve, were first noticed by Sir Gardiner Wilkinson. My 
brother read them to me thus — " Ezbek and Bej^bars have 
been here." "Bey bars and Kalaoon El-Elfee have been 
here." " Sultan Mohammad. . . . Sa'eed." These three 
persons were Memlook sultans of Egypt, who reigned in 
the latter half of the thirteenth century, at which period, 
it appears, the Great Pyramid was open ; if these inscrip- 
tions be genuine, which my brother is a little inclined to 
doubt. 

Under the grand, ascending passage, runs another, 
which is horizontal, low, and narrow. The entrance of 
the latter (h) is fifteen feet three inches from the projec- 
tion of a foot and a half before mentioned. This passage 
is three feet eleven inches high, and three feet five inches 
wide. I found almost as much difficulty in proceeding 
here as I had in ascending and descending the sloping 
passages ; the dust and the heat together being here espe- 
cially oppressive. It continues of the same dimensions to 
the distance of ninety-three feet. Here we find a descent 
of one foot eight inches in the floor ; so that the remainder 
of the passage is nearly high enough for a person of mid- 
dling stature to walk along it without bending down the 
head. At the distance of a hundred and ten feet nine 
inches (from its entrance) it terminates (see i in the sec- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 205 

tion) at the eastern corner of the north side of a chamber, 
which is nineteen feet long", and seventeen feet broad (see 
k). This has been called by some travellers the " Queen's 
Chamber;" from the supposition that the queen of the 
founder of the pyramid was buried in it. The roof is 
formed of long bricks of stone, leaning against each other. 
The height of the chamber, to the commencement of the 
roof, is thirteen feet and a half; and to the summit, about 
seven feet more. The floor, sides, and roof are constructed 
of the same kind of limestone as the passages. In the 
eastern end (not in the middle, but rather to the right) is 
a high and narrow recess, live feet wide at the bottom, 
but becoming narrower towards the top, like the sides of 
the Grand Passage. It is three feet five inches deep. 
Within it, four feet from the floor, is the entrance of a 
forced passage, four feet wide. At the commencement it 
is square, and smoothly cut ; but further on it becomes 
irregular ; and at the distance of fifty feet it terminates at 
a hollow space, wider and more irregular than the rest. 
In this chamber and forced passage there is little to detain 
us. We return to the Grand Passage. 

Above the entrance of the horizontal passage which 
leads to the chamber above described, is a perpendicular 
(marked h in the section). This perpendicular, together 
with the height of the said passage, is seven feet three 
inches. The flooring then ascends in the same direction 
as the other ascending passage ; at an angle of twenty- 
six degrees and a half. At the distance of three feet five 
inches is another perpendicular or step of only eight 
inches, above which the floor has the same inclination 
again ; and notches have been cut in it to facilitate the 
ascent, which is not easily performed unless without 
shoes. There is a bench of stone on each side all along 
the passage, and in the tops of these benches are oblong 
holes at short intervals : their use is unknown. The 
width of the passage (including the benches, which are 
one foot eight inches and a half square), is six feet ten 
18 



206 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

inches ; about four ancient Egyptian cubits. The sides 
of the passage are composed of nine courses of stone 
from the benches upwards. The stone is of the same 
kind as that of which the lower passages are constructed. 
Some travellers have supposed it to be white marble, but 
no marble is found in any part of the pyramid. The 
two lower courses are even with each other, but each 
course above projects three inches beyond that below it ; 
and so does each corresponding course at the upper and 
lower ends of the passage. The length of the whole pas- 
sage is a hundred and fifty-eight feet. At the distance 
of five feet and one inch before we reached the upper 
end, we ascend another perpendicular of two feet eleven 
inches. The floor beyond is horizontal, forming a small 
platform (see I in the section). From this commences a 
horizontal passage three feet seven inches and a half in 
height, and three feet five inches and a half in width (see 
m). Within it, on the right, is the entrance of a forced 
passage, made in search for other chambers than those 
already known. At the distance of four feet five inches 
(from the entrance of the true passage), commences an 
open space above (see n), the upper part of which is 
nearly twice as wide as the passage, and nine feet eight 
inches in length : but the passage below is contracted 
again to its former height by a kind of portcullis, formed 
of two blocks of granite one above another, each one foot 
three inches thick ; these have been let down from the 
space above between two small projections on each side 
which form a pair of grooves. Beyond this, the passage 
(which is here of granite), is open as before, to the space 
above, and there are grooves for the reception of three 
other portcullises of granite, by which the architect 
thought that he should for ever prevent access to the 
mysterious chamber which contains the sarcophagus ; 
but these have been broken and their fragments carried 
away. The passage beyond (see o), is of its former 
dimensions, and continues so to the distance of eight feet 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 297 

five inches, its whole length, from the top of the Grand 
Passage, being twenty-two feet and a half. It terminates 
at the eastern extremity of the north side of the Grand 
Chamber (see p in the section). 

The dimensions of the Great Chamber are especially 
worthy of remark : the length is thirty-four feet four 
inches and a half; just twenty ancient Egyptian cubits ; 
the width exactly half that measure. The height is about 
two feet more than the width. It is entirely constructed 
of red granite. Near the western end is the sarcophagus ; 
which is also of red granite. It is seven feet and a half 
in length, three and a half in breadth, and the sides are 
half a foot thick. No hieroglyphics nor sculpture of any 
kind adorn it either within or without ; its sides are per- 
fectly plain and polished, and its form is simply that of 
an oblong chest, in every way rectangular. Its lid has 
been carried away, as well as its original contents ; and 
we find in it nothing but dust and small fragments of 
stone. It has been much injured at one of its corners 
by a number of travellers, who have broken off pieces to 
carry away as memorials. When struck with any thing 
hard, or even with the hand, it sounds like a bell. It 
rests upon a block of granite considerably larger than 
any of the other blocks of which the floor is composed. 

Why was such an enormous mass placed there ? The 
alabaster sarcophagus in the great tomb opened by Belzoni 
in the valley of Beeban-el-Mulook, at Thebes, closed the 
entrance of a deep descent of steps, which has never 
been explored to its termination : the sofi and crumbling 
nature of the rock through which it is cut rendering any 
attempt to clear it out extremely dangerous. The enor- 
mous mass of granite under the sarcophagus in the 
Great Pyramid may have been placed there for a similar 
purpose, or to cover the mouth of a vault or pit ; so that, 
in case any violater of the sacred edifice should succeed 
(notwithstanding the portcullises of granite), in effecting 
an entrance into the Great Chamber, he might, on dis- 



208 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

covering the sarcophagus, believe the object of his search 
to be accomplished. An excavation has been made (I 
believe by Col. Howard Vyse), beneath this huge stone, 
but it seems hardly to have been carried sufficiently far. 
The sides of the chamber are formed of six regular 
courses of granite blocks, which are united with the 
greatest exactness, and their surfaces are perfectly even 
and polished, without hieroglyphics or any other inscrip- 
tions or ornaments. In the northern side near the 
corner of the entrance is a small aperture, and opposite 
to it on the southern side is another. Col. Vyse dis- 
covered the termination of each of these, in the exterior 
of the pyramid : they seem to have been designed for 
the purpose of ventilation. The roof of the chamber 
consists of nine long granite blocks which extend from 
side to side. The half only of the stone at each end is 
seen, the other half resting on the wall. 

Returning from this chamber we stop at the platform 
at the upper end of the Grand Passage (see I in the sec- 
tion).* Here we observe at the top of the eastern wall 
(that is on the left of a person facing the end of the pas- 
sage), at the height of twenty-four feet, a square aperture 
which is the entrance of another passage (q). Small 
notches have been cut at the corner all the way up, for 
the reception of the ends of short pieces of wood, which 
were thus placed one above another so as to form a kind 
of ladder. These have been taken away, and the ascent 
without them is difficult and dangerous. When my 
brother was here alone some years ago, two Arabs con- 
trived to climb up by means of the little notches, and 
took with them a strong rope, the end of which he tied 
round him, and so they drew him up to the top. As soon 
as he was freed from the rope they demanded of him a 

* There is a remarkable echo in this passage, on ac- 
count of which it is a custom of travellers to fire a pistol 
or gun here. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 209 

present, threatening- that if he refused they would de- 
scend and leave him there. Though my brother laughed 
at their threats, they would not for some minutes confess 
that they were joking. The passage in which he found 
himself is only two feet four inches square. It turns im- 
mediately to the right, and to the distance of a few feet 
it continues square and of the same dimensions as before, 
but much clogged with dirt ; afterwards it becomes irre- 
gular both in direction and in the construction of its 
sides, and it was difficult for my brother to drag himself 
along it, while numbers of bats escaped from within and 
flew against his face. At the distance of twenty-four 
feet the passage terminates at the northeast corner of a 
large but low place (r). This chamber (if such it may 
be called) was discovered by Mr. Davison, who was 
British Consul at Algiers, and who visited Egypt with 
Mr. Wortley Montague in 1763 and 4, and it is called by 
the discoverer's name. It is directly above the Grand 
Chamber, and is of the same width as that chamber, but 
four feet longer. The long granite blocks which com- 
pose the roof of the lower chamber form the floor of this, 
and the first and last of these blocks are here seen entire. 
The upper surface of each of them is very rough, and 
they are not all of the same thickness. The roof also of 
this place is formed of long blocks of granite eight in 
number. The height is scarcely more than three feet. 
In the southeast corner is a small forced passage which 
ascends a few feet. The second roof above the Grand 
Chamber was made to secure the lower roof, which 
otherwise might have been broken down by the superin- 
cumbent masses. Col. Vyse discovered over Davison's 
chamber three others similar to it one above another, and 
above the uppermost of these another with a pointed 
roof; and in making this discovery he made one of much 
greater importance, that of two hieroglyphic names, 
rudely inscribed as quarry-marks ; one of them certainly 
the name of the founder, as before mentioned; the other, 
18* 



210 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

according to some, a variation of the same name ; ac- 
cording to others, the name of a predecessor or successor 
of the founder. 

I scarcely need tell you that I did not descend what is 
called the well. It was explored by Mr. Davison, and 
afterwards in 1801 by Col. Coutelle ; but its termination 
and use remained involved in uncertainty and mystery, 
until it was cleared out in 1817 by Caviglia. On the 
right of the lower end of the Grand Passage two feet 
below the floor, are three low steps occupying a space of 
four feet and a half in length. Beyond them is the 
mouth of the first shaft which is two feet two inches 
square. Here are little notches roughly cut in the sides 
in which to place the fingers and toes, and as the space 
is narrow, a person may descend without the aid of a 
rope, as my brother did, but he found it difficult and 
dangerous to do so. The ascent is attended with less 
danger, and seems precisely like climbing a chimney. 
At the depth of a few feet it becomes very rugged and 
irregular, and continues so for nearly fifty feet. After 
descending rather more than sixty feet, an aperture is 
seen on the southern side, which is the entrance of a 
kind of grotto (s) between five and six feet high, and 
about three times as long, turning to the right. It is 
hollowed out in a vein of coarse but compact gravel, and 
the well in consequence of this vein, is lined with 
masonry for the space of a few feet above and below the 
grotto. Where the masonry ceases (t) the well takes 
a sloping direction and continues so to the bottom ; but 
towards the bottom (see u in the section) the slope be- 
comes more steep. All the sloping part is cut through 
the solid rock below the foundation of the pyramid, and 
is of a square form. At the bottom of the well (v) is a 
horizontal passage six feet long, communicating with the 
first passage, two hundred and twelve feet below the 
aperture by which one ascends to the second passage. 

The first passage of the pyramid from the aperture last 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 211 

mentioned, continues in the same direction, and is of the 
same dimensions, but is cut through the solid rock, and is 
not lined with masonry. The aperture which communi- 
cates with the bottom of the well is two feet ten inches 
broad. It is on the right of a person descending the first 
passage. This passage continues in the same direction 
to the distance of twenty-three feet further (see w in the 
section), beyond which it is horizontal, and so low and 
encumbered with rubbish, that the explorer is obliged to 
drag himself in a prostrate position. At the distance of 
sixteen feet nine inches there is a recess (#) on the right 
side three feet four inches deep, and six feet five inches 
wide. Four feet and a half beyond this, the passage ter- 
minates at the eastern extremity of the north side of a 
large excavated chamber (y). 

The Great Excavated Chamber is nearly under the 
centre of the pyramid. It is twenty-seven feet broad, and 
sixty-six feet long. The roof is flat, but the floor is very 
uneven. At the entrance the chamber is fifteen feet high ; 
towards the western end the rock rises perpendicularly 
half-way towards the ceiling, and there are masses of 
strange forms, but not altogether irregular, rising still 
higher, and nearly touching the top of the chamber. In 
the floor at the lower end is a wide hollow space nearly 
filled with rats' dung. Immediately opposite the entrance 
is a level passage (z), low and narrow, running towards 
the south ; it terminates abruptly at the distance of fifty- 
five feet. The floor of the chamber is just a hundred feet 
below the level of the external base of the pyramid. It 
appeared evident to my brother that this great chamber 
was an unfinished excavation. Mr. Salt thought other- 
wise : " He had flattered himself that it would turn out to 
be that described by Herodotus as containing the tomb of 
Cheops, which was insulated by a canal from the Nile ; 
but the want of an inlet, and its elevation of thirty feet 
above the level of the Nile at its highest point, put an end 
to this delusive idea." This great chamber was discovered 



212 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

by Caviglia, of whose operations in the Great Pyramid, 
and in the neighbouring tombs, an interesting account is 
given in the 19th vol. of the " Quarterly Review." After 
having explored the well, and endeavoured, in vain, to 
draw up the rubbish with which the lower end was filled, 
he turned his attention to the clearing of the first passage 
of the pyramid, which, until that time, had been supposed 
to terminate just below the aperture which communicates 
with the second passage. In the prosecution of this work 
(which was one of much difficulty, as the passage was 
choked with large fragments of stone), he discovered the 
communication with the bottom of the well, and, continu- 
ing his operations, soon after entered the Great Excavated 
Chamber. 

Such is the description of all that is now known of the 
interior of the Great Pyramid. It has been calculated 
that there might be within this stupendous fabric, three 
thousand seven hundred chambers, each equal in size to 
the Sarcophagus Chamber, allowing the contents of an 
equal number of such chambers to be solid, by way of se- 
paration.* Yet this enormous pile seems to have been 
raised merely as a sepulchral monument, to contain, per- 
haps, one single mummy, not a particle of which now re- 
mains in the place in which it was deposited with so 
much precaution :f unless there be yet undiscovered any 
other receptacle for the royal corpse than the sarcophagus 
in the Granite Chamber. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus 
assert that the building of the Great Pyramid occupied 
about twenty years, and according to the former, a hun- 
dred thousand men — according to the latter three hun- 
dred and sixty thousand men — were employed in its con- 
struction. 

* Quarterly Review — vol. 19, page 401. 

t Most ancient authors who have described this monu- 
ment assert, in opposition to Diodorus, that its founder 
was buried in it. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 213 

The Great Pyramid is surrounded, on three sides, by 
almost innumerable tombs. On the east are three small 
pyramids ; and on the same side, and on the west and 
south, are many oblong tombs, flat-topped, and with sides 
inclining inwards. Some persons who have been unrea- 
sonable enough to doubt whether the pyramids are sepul- 
chral monuments, must, I think, be convinced of their 
error by the discoveries of Colonel Vyse : long before 
which, my brother found bones and mummy-rags in the 
principal pyramid of Sakkarah. 



LETTER XXV. 

February, 1844. 
My dear Friend, 

I fear that I might weary you if I gave you a descrip- 
tion of the other pyramids as full as that of the first ; and, 
as they are far less interesting, I would pass them over 
entirely ; but a few remarks respecting them, some of 
which I owe to my brother, I do not refrain from offer- 
ing, as I think they will interest you. It is no trifle, I 
assure you, for a woman to explore the interior of the 
Great Pyramid. My mind continued so impressed with 
the difficulties of this undertaking, for some time, that I 
could not forget them, even in my dreams. The examina- 
tion of the others is somewhat less arduous. 

The name of the founder of the Second Pyramid, com- 
monly called that of Chephrenes, still remains involved in 
some degree of doubt. But in some of the tombs in the 
neighbourhood, we find a king's name, in hieroglyphics, 
which, according to different dialects, may be read Khe- 
phre or Shefre ; and it seems highly probable that the 
king to whom this name belongs was the builder of the 
pyramid in question. 

This pyramid is but little inferior in magnitude to the 
first. From some points of view, it even appears more 



214 THE ENGLISH WOMAN IN EGYPT. 

lofty, as it stands on ground about thirty feet higher than 
that on which the first rests, and its summit is almost 
entire. A large portion of its smooth casing remains on 
the upper part, forming a cap which extends from the top 
to about a quarter of the distance thence to the base. Not- 
withstanding this, Arabs often ascend to its summit ; and 
many European travellers have done the same. In its 
general construction, this pyramid is inferior to the first ; 
and its interior is less remarkable. By a sloping passage, 
similar to the first in the Great Pyramid, but cased with 
granite, and then by a long horizontal passage hewn 
through the rock, broken by two perpendicular descents, 
and sloping ascents, we reach the Great Chamber. This 
is similar in form to the " Queen's Chamber" in the Great 
Pyramid, and contains a plain sarcophagus of granite, 
among blocks of the same material lately torn up from the 
floor, in which the sarcophagus was embedded. 

Several Arabic inscriptions are scrawled with charcoal 
upon various parts of this chamber. Most of these were 
written before the opening of the pyramid by Belzoni, and 
are nearly illegible ; generally recording the visits of 
Arabs, and in the modern Arabic characters. My brother 
could not find any date among them. From his manu- 
script notes, I copy the following observations respecting 
one of these inscriptions which has excited especial atten- 
tion : consisting of two lines, written in the same charac- 
ters as the rest, and with the same material, but not so 
imperfectly legible. " Belzoni particularly remarked these 
two lines, and took a Copt scribe to copy them ; but this 
man did not faithfully execute his task : he concluded that 
the second line was a continuation of the first, which is 
far from being certain, and gave a transcript in which he 
presumed to restore what was defective in the original. 
His transcript has been thus translated by Mr. Salame : 
'The Master Mohammed Ahmed, lapicide, has opened 
them ; and the Master Othman attended this (opening) ; 
and the King Alij Mohammed at first (from the begin- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 215 

ning) to the closing up.' This inscription has exceedingly 
puzzled the learned Orientalists of Europe ; and great 
pains have been taken to find out who was the king men- 
tioned in it, and at what period he reigned. It unfor- 
tunately happens that the first line is almost wholly de- 
faced ; a traveller having scribbled his name over it : the 
two first words, however, have not been written over ; and 
I must pronounce it very uncertain whether they are as 
in the transcript above-mentioned, and consequently, 
whether the inscription contain any mention of the « open- 
ing' of the pyramid. But the second line, which is the 
more important, has not been defaced like the first ; and 
the greater part of it is so plain that it can hardly be read 
otherwise than thus : « El-Khaleel 'Alee, the son of Mo- 
hammad . . . , has been here ;' or, in the order of the 
Arabic words, c Has been here El-Khaleel 'Alee, the son 
of Mohammad . . .' It is quite evident that the word 
which Belzoni's copyist makes ' el-melik,' or * the King,' 
is a proper name. Another inaccuracy in the copy pub- 
lished by Belzoni is the omission of the word signifying 
4 son,' after ' 'Alee.' Thus we find that this inscription 
(instead of recording the visit of a king, or perhaps, even 
alluding to the opening of the pyramid) is probably nothing 
more than the Arabic scrawls which are seen in great 
numbers on many of the monuments of Egypt. It, and 
others similar to it, are of some interest, however, as 
showing that the pyramid was open at a comparatively 
late period." 

The third pyramid, commonly attributed to Mycerinus, 
or Mencheres, was opened by Colonel Vyse, who found in 
it the mummy-case of its founder, bearing the hierogly- 
phic name of Menkare. This pyramid, though small in 
comparison with the first and second, its base being abont 
three hundred and thirty feet, and its perpendicular height 
about two hundred, is a very noble monument. Its con- 
struction is excellent ; and it was distinguished by being 
partly, or wholly, cased with granite. Several courses of 



216 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

the granite casing-stones remain at the lower part. The 
chamber in which the sarcophagus was found, and the 
entrance-passage, are formed of granite ; and the roof of 
the former is composed of blocks leaning together, and 
cut so as to form an arched ceiling. The sarcophagus 
was lost at sea, on its way to England. The third pyra- 
mid was the first that I entered ; and highly was I grati- 
fied by the view of its interior, after I had summoned 
courage to crawl through its entrance, which was almost 
closed by huge masses of stone. 

Adjacent to the pyramids which I have mentioned are 
several others ; but these are comparatively insignificant ; 
and I shall not attempt to describe them : nor shall I un- 
dertake to give you a detailed account of any of the nu- 
merous tombs to which I have before alluded. Most of 
these lie in a large space to the west of the Great Pyra- 
mid, and north of the second ; and are, with few excep- 
tions, disposed in regular lines, from north to south, and 
from east to west ; their walls, like the sides of the pyra- 
mids, facing the four cardinal points. Some of them are 
nearly buried in the drifted sand ; and many are almost 
entirely demolished. Some contain no chambers above 
ground ; but have a pit, entered from the roof, descending 
to a sepulchral chamber. Others contain narrow cham- 
bers within their walls, adorned with painted sculptures 
in low relief, representing agricultural and other scenes. 
Most of these are of the same age as the Great Pyramid. 
In one of them, which is of that age, are represented per- 
sons engaged in various arts, carpenters, makers of papy- 
rus-boats (probably like the ark in which Moses was ex- 
posed), agricultural employments, the wine-press, eating, 
dancing, &c. Among the subjects in this tomb, we find 
two men sitting at a tray which is supported by a low 
pedestal, and loaded with food ; one is holding a fowl in 
his left hand ; and, with his right, tearing off one of the 
wings : the other is holding a joint, and about to bite off 
a piece. Each of these persons is almost naked ; had 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 217 

they more clothing, they would exhibit a true representa- 
tion of two modern Egyptians at their dinner or supper. 
There are also many sepulchral grottoes, excavated in the 
rock, in the neighbourhood of the pyramids. In one we 
find representations of the flocks and herds of the princi- 
pal occupant, with the number of each kind : he had 835 
oxen, 220 cows with their young, 2234 he-goats, 760 
asses, and 974 rams. This interesting tomb is of the re- 
mote age of Khephre, or Shefre, before-mentioned. It is 
in the front of the rocky elevation on which the Great 
Pyramid stands, a little to the right of Colonel Vyse's quar- 
ters, facing the valley of the Nile. 

Had I attempted a regular description of the pyramids 
and the monuments around them, I should have begun 
with the Great Sphinx, which faces the traveller approach- 
ing the Great Pyramid by the easiest route from the 
southeast, and lies but a short distance from that route. 
Its huge recumbent body, and its enormous outstretched 
fore-legs, are almost entirely buried in sand and rubbish. 
The head alone is twenty feet high. The face (which 
lays claim to be regarded as a portrait of Thothmes IV., 
whom many believe to have reigned during the bondage 
of the Israelites in Egypt, or shortly before or after, and 
who may have been the very Pharaoh in whose reign the 
Exodus took place) is much mutilated ; the nose being 
broken off. This loss gives to the expression of the face 
much of the negro character : but the features of the 
countenance of the ancient Egyptian, as well as the com- 
parative lightness of complexion, widely distinguished 
him from the negro ; and the nose of the former greatly 
differed from that of the latter. At first the countenance 
of the Sphinx, disfigured as it is, appeared to me abso- 
lutely ugly ; but when I drew near, I observed in it a pe- 
culiar sweetness of expression, and I did not wonder at 
its having excited a high degree of admiration in many 
travellers. The whole of this extraordinary colossus was 
doubtless painted : the face still retains much of its paint, 
19 



218 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

which is red ochre, the colour always employed by the 
ancient Egyptians to represent the complexion of their 
countrymen ; yellow or pink being used by them for that 
of the Egyptian women. All that is visible of the Sphinx 
is hewn out of a mass of limestone rock, which perhaps 
naturally presented something of the form which art has 
given to it. 

I did not think to have written to you so much on the 
pyramids and the monuments around them ; but having 
entered upon the subject, I have found it difficult to stop. 
So wonderful in themselves are the principal pyramids, 
and so impressive by reason of their remote antiquity, 
that all other existing works of man must, I think, in 
comparison with them, sink into insignificance. I could 
hardly believe that monuments of such stupendous mag- 
nitude, and such admirable construction, were erected 
several centuries before the period of the Exodus, were it 
not for the fact that the Tower of Babel, probably an equal- 
ly wonderful edifice, was raised in an age yet earlier. 

During this excursion I was gratified by observing 
among innumerable Arabs belonging to the villages not a 
single instance of blindness, a calamity so common in 
Cairo. These peasants seem to enjoy a very small share 
of this world's goods ; but the exhilarating air usually 
blowing from the neighbouring desert has an extraordi- 
nary effect on their health and spirits. 

On the morning before our departure several well- 
dressed young Bedawees arrived near our tent, the sons 
of the sheykh of a distant village. After dismounting and 
loitering about for nearly an hour, they confessed to one 
of our party that they had ridden several miles in the 
hope of seeing the faces of some European ladies, who, 
they had been informed, were passing a few days at the 
pyramids, and they were seriously disappointed on finding 
veiled ladies only. A few weeks since these same young 
men enjoyed the treat of seeing an American lady who is 
travelling in Egypt, and who is a beautiful person, A 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 219 

friend of ours asked their opinion of the lady on that oc- 
casion, when they replied that her appearance was " ex- 
cellent." " But," exclaimed one of the young men, " the 
sword ! the sword ! if we dared to use it, we would kill 
that man," alluding to the lady's companion, " whether 
her husuand, or her brother, and take her ourselves." 
'Tis well for pretty women travelling in the East that 
these lawless Arabs are kept under a degree of subjection 
by the present government. 



LETTER XXVI. 

March, 1844. 
My dear Friend, 

You may have heard of a famous magician in this fa- 
mous cit}' of Cairo, who, though not supposed to be pos- 
sessed of art equal to that of Pharaoh's wise men and sor- 
cerers, has perplexed and confounded several of the most 
intelligent travellers, by feats very nearly resembling that 
performed by the Witch of Endor at the request of Saul. 
Having inscribed a magic square upon the palm of the 
right hand of any young boy or girl, and poured into the 
centre of it a little pool of ink, he pretends by means of 
the repetition of certain invocations to two spirits, and by 
burning some small strips of paper inscribed with similar 
invocations, in a chafing-dish containing live coals sprin- 
kled with frankincense and coriander-seed, or other per- 
fume, to make the boy see in this pool of ink the image 
of any person, living or dead, called for by his employer. 
My brother has fully described his performances as wit- 
nessed by himself and several other travellers more than 
ten years ago ; the performances of which he was himself 
witness were not altogether inexplicable, for some of the 
persons called for were not unknown to fame, and the cor- 
rect description of others might have been the result of 



220 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

mere guessing ; but the facts which he has related on the 
testimony of others have induced several persons whom I 
could name to believe them the effects of supernatural 
agency. The supposed mystery, however, my brother 
thinks he can now explain, at least so far as to satisfy- 
any reasonable person respecting most, if not all, of the 
most surprising of the feats to which I have alluded. (See 
Appendix.) 

A few weeks ago, he was requested by two English 
travellers, Lord N. and Major G., to witness the perform- 
ances of this magician, and to act as interpreter on the 
occasion, in order that they might feel themselves secure 
from any collusion. But I must give you his own ac- 
count of the exposure which this request occasioned. 

" I was unwilling," he said, " to accede to the pro- 
posal made to me, and expressed a reluctance to do so ; 
but I am glad that I at last consented. The magician 
tried with two boys, and with both of them he utterly 
failed in every case. His excuse was, that the boys were 
liars, and described the objects which they saw otherwise 
than as they appeared to them ; that the feats were per- 
formed not by his own means alone, and that he was not 
secure from being imposed upon by others. Now if we 
admit that there is still such a thing as real magic, and 
we know from the Bible such was once the case, we 
must allow that by occasional failures this man does not 
show that he is not a true magician, as long as he em- 
ploys an agent, upon whose veracity and particular 
qualifications he asserts the success of his performances 
to depend. Partly, perhaps, from feelings of mortifica- 
tion, and partly with the view of upholding his reputation 
by urging what he had done on former occasions, he re- 
marked to me that he was successful in the days of 
'Osman Efendee, and that since the death of that person 
he had been unfortunate. 

" This was indeed, for him, a most unfortunate remark. 
The inference to be drawn from it, that the person whom 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 221 

he named was the main spring of his machinery, was 
inevitable, more especially when I considered, that in all 
the instances of his surprising success of which I had 
heard, this person served as the interpreter ; and when I 
further reflected, that since his death, which took place 
naarly nine years ago, hundreds of persons had witnessed 
the performances of this magician, and I had been assured 
that his successes had been such as could not be said to 
be even the results of lucky guesses or mere accident, 
for he had almost always failed. I was at first unwilling 
to believe that a person whom I always regarded as an 
honest man, and whom I knew to have been possessed of 
many excellent qualities, had consented to be a means of 
imposition ; and I remembered that, in the performances 
which I had my self witnessed, I ascertained that he gave 
no direction either by word or sign ; that he was generally 
unacquainted in these instances with the personal appear- 
ance of the individual called for ; that I took care that he 
should have no previous communication with the boys ; 
and that I had seen the experiment fail when he could 
have given directions to them or to the magician. But 
the inferences to be derived from these circumstances, in 
favour of the magician, are surely outweighed by the 
facts which I have mentioned, resting not only upon the 
assertions of others, but also upon his own confession. 
'Osman perhaps considered it a light matter to practise 
such an artifice as that which is thus imputed to him, 
and perhaps was unwilling to practise it upon me, or 
feared my detecting him if he attempted to do so. Be- 
sides, if many of the performances of the magician had 
not been far more surprising than those which I witnessed, 
he would have gained but little notoriety. I satisfied my- 
self that the boy employed in a case which I have men- 
tioned in my work on the * Modern Egyptians,' was not 
prompted for the part he played, by my having chosen 
him from a number of others passing by in the street ; 
and I also felt satisfied that the images which he and 
19* 



222 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

another boy professed to have seen, were by some means 
produced in the ink by the magician, in consequence of 
their refusal to accept presents which I offered them, with 
the view of inducing them to confess that they did not 
really see what they proposed to have seen. As to the 
former point, I was doubtless right ; but as to the latter, 
I now feel that I was deceived. I believe that the boys 
saw nothing, and that, having deceived me, they feared 
to confess the truth. Another difficulty, however, lies in 
the way of the explanation which I have proposed; two 
travellers (one of them M. Leon Delaborde, the other an 
Englishman), both instructed by the magician of whom 
I am speaking, are stated to have succeeded in perform- 
ing similar feats. But is it not almost certain, after 
what I have said, that those feats were accomplished by 
means of the suggestions of the interpreter or inter- 
preters ? Perhaps the same person who interpreted in 
other cases which excited so much surprise did so in 
those also. 

u I have stated all that I can for and against the 
magician, and leave it for others to decide upon the case. 
For myself, I am satisfied that his successes are to be 
attributed chiefly to the interpreter, but partly also to 
leading questions, and partly to mere guessing. Let us 
consider these three means as employed in one of the most 
remarkable cases. A number of individuals being called 
for, most of them (perhaps all), are correctly described. 
With the personal appearance of many of these indivi- 
duals the interpreter is acquainted, and he is therefore 
able to suggest to the boy what he should say. When he 
has had no previous knowledge of the peculiarities of the 
appearance of a person called for, it has often happened 
that he has acquired such knowledge during the per- 
formance. One of the company, for instance, saying 
that he will call for such a person, adding that he is re- 
markable in such and such respects. When the first 
means cannot be employed, much may be done by the 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 223 

second, that is, by leading questions. When a person 
having but one leg, or one leg shorter than another, is 
called for, he is perhaps vaguely described, and the boy 
is in consequence asked if there is any thing peculiar in 
his legs : this question suggests to him that there is some 
peculiarity in his legs, and he probably ventures to say 
that he can only see one leg, then if this be unsatis- 
factory, he may add the person has turned round, and 
that he sees him to be lame. The third means (guessing" 
without the others is not likely to be of much service ; 
but with them it may help to supply trifling deficiencies, 
and when the guessing is wrong respecting a trifling 
matter, his error is considered trifling; but when he is 
right, his description is often considered striking for its 
minute accuracy. 

" The last performances of this magician in my pre- 
sence were ridiculous for their complete want of success. 
A woman was described as a man, a tall person as short 
or middle-sized, the very old as of a middle age, and so 
on. Two boys were employed ; one was very stupid and 
appeared much frightened, the other seemed accustomed 
to the performance.'* 

A friend has just described to me the latest perform- 
ance of the magician, and you can hardly conceive any 
thing more unfortunate and absurd. He had been sent 
for to gratify the curiosity of a party of English travel- 
lers at the French Hotel, a frequent scene of his imposi- 
tions, where he often finds a boy ready to be employed by 
him, familiar with his tricks, and an interpreter disposed 
to aid his deceptions. A donkey-boy was sent for ; and 
after the usual preparations, Lord Auckland was named 
as the first person whose image was to be presented to the 
boy, in the mirror of ink. He was merely described as 
short and thin. O'Connell was next represented as short 
and thin, dressed in white, young, without a beard 
wearing a white hat with a handkerchief tied round it 
(like a Frank endeavouring to preserve his head from the 



224 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

heat of an Egyptian summer sun), and having onfy one 
hand. Several other persons were called for, relations of 
individuals present, with various success; and much 
laughter was occasioned, which made the magician 
accuse the boy of not telling what he saw. Another 
boy was sent for ; and he seemed to have been employed 
previously : sometimes he got on before the magician. 
After many ridiculous failures, the Prince of Wales was 
described with white hair, yellow beard, black coat, and 
white trousers. (Beards, I should tell you are worn here 
by many European travellers.) The party agreed not to 
laugh ; and the names of persons present were given as 
those of individuals whose images were required to 
appear. Sometimes the image described was right in 
being tall, but wrong in being fat : right as to coat, but 
wrong as to trousers : just as you would expect in cases 
of guessing. Five dollars were put upon a chair before 
the magician ; but he had the presence of mind to wait 
for more, which, I believe, he received, I assure you he 
reaps a fine harvest from the pockets of travellers. 

If you wish to know what the performances of this 
man were in earlier times, in the most remarkable in. 
stances, read an account of them in No. 117 of the 
" Quarterly Review ;" and especially a note there, follow- 
ing the remarks of the reviewer. You will see, from 
what is there stated, that the subject was deemed worthy 
of serious consideration, and that a discovery of the 
means employed by the magician, which were thought to 
be of a very ingenious kind, was regarded as an interest- 
ing desideratum. That these means were not merejy 
leading questions, and the like, as a late writer has sug- 
gested, is evident when we reflect that the magician is 
not known to have been even generally successful on any 
single occasion since the death of the interpreter 'Osman, 
and it is not likely that intelligent travellers (of whom 
many might be named) would have been at a loss for the 
explanation, if such means would have sufficed. 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 225 

One further remark I must make on this subject. If 
we give to some persons that credit which they are 
believed to deserve, we must admit that excited imagina- 
tion, in the child employed as an agent in the deception, 
has sometimes produced images in the mirror of ink ; but 
these images have been always such as the child expected 
to see. The successful performances have been supposed, 
by some, to have been effected by means of mesmerism ; 
and some have attributed them to diabolical agency. As 
the grandest discoveries in science are often the most 
simple, so what appears to us at first most unaccount- 
able is often capable of the most simple solution. 



LETTER XXVII. 

April, 1844. 
My dear Friend, 

When I promised you a description of the Bath, I did 
not anticipate that I should enter upon the subject with 
pleasure. Whatever others may think of it, I confess that 
the operation of bathing in the Eastern manner is to me 
extremely agreeable ; and I have found it singularly be- 
neficial in removing that lassitude which is occasioned by 
the climate. It is true that it is followed by a sense of 
fatigue, but a delightful repose soon ensues ; and the con- 
sequences, upon the whole, I find almost as enjoyable as 
the process itself. 

The buildings containing the baths are all nearly on 
the same plan, and are much alike in appearance ; the 
fronts being decorated fancifully, in red and white, and 
the interiors consisting of several apartments paved witli 
marble. I will describe to you, in a few words, one of 
the best in Cairo, which I visited with three ladies of my 
acquaintance, — English, Abyssinian, and Syrian. 



226 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

After we had passed through two passages, we found 
ourselves in the first large apartment, or chamber of 
repose, in which the bathers undress previously to their 
entering the heated chambers, and in which they dress 
after taking the bath, and rest on a raised marble plat- 
form, or wide bench, on which are spread mats and car- 
pets. In the centre is a fountain of cold water, over which 
is a dome. For a detailed account of the public baths of 
Cairo I refer you to my brother's description ; and shall 
only relate to you the scenes through which I passed on 
the occasion to which I have referred. 

In the first apartment, each of us enveloped herself in 
a very long and broad piece of drapery, — which, but for 
its size, I might call a scarf, — and proceeded through a 
small chamber, which was moderately heated, to the prin- 
cipal inner apartment, where the heat was intense. The 
plan of this apartment is that of a cross, having four re- 
cesses ; each of which, as well as the central portion, is 
covered with a dome. The pavements are of white and 
black marble, and small pieces of fine red tile, very fanci- 
fully and prettily disposed. In the middle is a jet of hot 
water, rising from the centre of a high seat of marble, 
upon which many persons might sit together. The pave- 
ment of each of the recesses is a few inches higher than 
that of the central portion of the apartment ; and in one of 
them is a trough, into which hot water was constantly 
pouring from a pipe in the dome above. The whole 
apartment was full of steam. 

On entering this chamber a scene presented itself which 
beggars description. My companions had prepared me 
for seeing many persons undressed ; but imagine my asto- 
nishment on finding at least thirty women of all ages, and 
many young girls and children, perfectly unclothed. You 
will scarcely think it possible that no one but ourselves 
had a vestige of clothing. Persons of all colours, from 
the black and glossy shade of the negro to the fairest pos- 
sible hue of complexion, were formed in groups, con- 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYrT. 227 

versing as though full dressed, with perfect nonchalance, 
while others were strolling about, or sitting round the 
fountain. I cannot describe the bath as altogether a 
beautiful scene ; in truth, in some respects it is disgusting ; 
and I regret that I can never reach a private room in any 
bath without passing through the large public apartment. 

I will turn to the more agreeable subject — the opera- 
tion of the bath, which is quite luxurious. The sensation 
experienced on first entering the hottest chamber is almost 
overpowering — the heat is extremely oppressive ; and at 
first I believed that I could not long support such a tern, 
perature ; but after the first minute, I was relieved by a 
gentle, and afterwards by a profuse perspiration, and no 
longer felt in any degree oppressed. It is always neces- 
sary for each lady to send her own bathing-linen, a pair 
of high clogs, a large copper vessel for hot water, two 
copper bowls, and towels. 

The first operation is a gentle kneading the flesh, or 
shampooing. Next the attendant cracks the joints of 
those who desire to submit to this process. I confess I 
did not suffer such an infliction. Some of the native wo- 
men after this are rubbed with a rasp, or rather with two 
rasps of different kinds, a coarse one for the feet, and a 
fine one for the body ; but neither of these rasps do I ap- 
prove. A small coarse woollen bag, into which the ope- 
rator's hand is inserted, is in my opinion preferable. 
Next the head and face are covered with a thick lather, 
which is produced by rubbing soap on a handful of fibres 
of the palm-tree, which are called leef, and which form a 
very agreeable and delicate-looking rubber. It is truly 
ridiculous to see another under this operation. When her 
head and face have been well lathered, and the soap has 
been thoroughly washed off by abundance of hot water, a 
novice would suppose that at least they were sufficiently 
purified ; but this is not the case : two or three of such 
latherings, and as many washings, are necessary before 
the attendant thinks her duty to the head and face accom- 



228 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

plished. Then follows the more agreeable part of the 
affair, — the general lathering and rubbing, which is per- 
formed by the attendant so gently, and in so pleasant a 
manner, that it is quite a luxury ; and I am persuaded 
that the Eastern manner of bathing is highly salubrious, 
from its powerful effect upon the skin. 

When the operation was completed, I was enveloped in 
a dry piece of drapery, similar to the bathing-dress, and 
conducted to the reposing-room, where I was rubbed and 
dressed, and left to take rest and refreshment, and to re- 
flect upon the strange scene which I had witnessed. I 
wish I could say that there are no drawbacks to the en- 
joyment of the luxury I have described ; but the eyes and 
ears of an Englishwoman must be closed in the public 
bath in Egypt before she can fairly enjoy the satisfaction 
it affords ; for besides the very foreign scenes which can- 
not fail to shock her feelings of propriety, the cries of the 
children are deafening and incessant. The perfection of 
Eastern bathing is therefore rather to be enjoyed in a pri- 
vate bath, with the attendance of a practised vellaneh. 



LETTER XXVIII. 

April, 1844. 
My dear Friend, 

I remember writing, in my simplicity, that I believed 
Mohammad 'Alee Pasha to have but two wives ; but hav- 
ing been introduced to another of his wives, the mother 
of Haleem Bey, in his hareem in the citadel, I conjecture 
that there is yet another, making the full Muslim allow- 
ance, namely, four wives. 

The ride to the citadel is not an agreeable one ; and at 
this time the ascent is attended with some danger, as the 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 229 

Pasha has directed the repair of the road leading from 
the Bab el Weezer ; in consequence of which heaps of 
stones and rubbish almost obstruct the way. I had 
chosen this route because it is unpaved, and my expe- 
rience had made me dread the slrppery paved entrance by 
the Great Gate, mounted, as I was, on a « high ass." Al- 
though expecting a tumble in riding over the rubbish, I 
could not help remarking the enormous size of some 
stones which had been thrown down from an old wall, so 
much resembling stones which lie scattered around the 
pyramids, that I do not doubt they are some of those 
which were transported by Karakoosh when he was em- 
ployed in building the citadel. 

The Kasr appropriated to the hareem of the Pasha in 
the citadel is a noble mansion, the finest domestic struc- 
ture I have seen in Egypt. The interior is on the usual 
Turkish plan. On the ground floor is a spacious saloon, 
paved with marble of a bluish white, nearly surrounded 
by suites of apartments which open into it ; and on the 
first floor are rooms on the same plan. Accompanied by 
my friend Mrs. Sieder, I passed from the principal en- 
trance to a large square court, and having crossed this, 
we found ourselves in the lower of the two saloons. We 
then ascended by an ample marble staircase to the saloon 
on the first floor. Here a most magnificent prospect burst 
upon our view : three windows which are opposite the 
head of the stairs, command the whole of Cairo, and the 
plain beyond ; and every object of interest to the north 
and west of Cairo within the reach of our sight lay in 
picturesque variety before our admiring gaze ; the green 
carpet of the Delta, and the plain of Goshen, terminating 
the view towards the north. I would willingly have lin- 
gered here, but our attendants were impatient to conduct 
us into the presence of the chief lady. 

We found her sitting in a room which was carpeted and 
surrounded by a divan, attended by three ladies. She re- 
20 



230 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

calved us with much respect and cordiality, and as I had 
been informed that she had the reputation of being an 
exceedingly haughty person, I was agreeably surprised 
Ly finding in her conversation and deportment the utmost 
affability and politeness. She conversed with me freely 
of my children, told me that her son was under twenty 
years of age, and introduced to my notice two nice little 
girls, children of the hareem, one of whom presented me 
with a bouquet. The subject of the number, health, and 
age of each lady's children is always the darling theme of 
conversation in the hareems, and truly to a mother ever 
agreeable. One lady asked me with perfect gravity, 
whether one of my boys, being thirteen years of age, was 
married. I conclude she meant betrothed, for the same 
word is used to express marriage and betrothal. I ex- 
plained to her that, in England, a boy must become a 
man before he thinks of marriage, or even betrothal ; and 
that if he entered into the marriage state at twenty years 
of age, and a girl at fifteen, they would be considered too 
young. The lady whom I addressed, and her companion, 
listened with much attention, and one of them earnestly 
maintained that the English were quite right in objecting 
to such young marriages as take place constantly in the 
East. 

With respect to the beauties in this hareem, I can only 
say that one was very remarkable ; and among the orna- 
ments that I saw there, there was nothing deserving of 
particular notice excepting the pearl necklaces of the chief 
lady and two others : these were composed of the largest 
pearls that I have ever seen, but nearly tight round the 
throat. 

On quitting this hareem, I was conducted by the ladies 
with the ceremony I have not described, which was that 
of holding the haberah on each side, while I crossed the 
saloons, and until I reached the hareem curtain. These 
attendant ladies, in imitation of their superiors, vied with 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 231 

each other in paying us every polite attention, and each 
and all in the hareem of the citadel were pictures of 
cheerfulness. 

I was informed that no Franks had ever before been 
admitted into this hareem, and I believe it to be the case ; 
though a portion of the same building, entered from the 
other side, and in which the Pasha had some rooms fitted 
up in the European manner, has been frequently seen by 
travellers. Some European ladies, a short time since, 
offered twenty dollars to procure admission, and were re- 
fused. I did not offer a bribe ; for I never have conde- 
scended to obtain access to a hareem through the ser- 
vants, and have either been introduced by my kind friend 
Mrs. Sieder, or paid my visit without any explanation to 
the slaves, and have never met with the slightest opposi- 
tion. On quitting, it is necessary to give a present to the 
chief eunuch, or to the doorkeeper. 

After paying this visit, I called on my old friends, the 
hareem of Habeeb Efendee ; and I confess I approached 
their house with some apprehension that, instead of their 
usual hearty welcome, I might meet with a cold recep- 
tion, during the present state of things. England and 
France having lately required of the Sultan a concession 
which every Christian must ardently desire, but which it 
is almost impossible for him, as a Muslim sovereign, to 
grant, and the result being not yet known, it was particu- 
larly agreeable to our feelings, in visiting his near rela- 
tions, to find the whole family prepared to welcome us 
with even more than their usual affection. The ladies in 
that hareem being particularly well-informed, the conver- 
sation during our visit takes always a lively, and often a 
political turn ; and as soon as we were seated yesterday, 
the passing events were discussed, and the question of 
liberty of conscience on religious subjects soon introduced. 
But here I must digress, to remark to you one circum- 
stance which much pleased me. While I was in conver- 
sation with a lady who was sitting next to me, we both 



232 THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 

heard the whole company, consisting of the daughters 
and several visiters, suddenly rise, and, following their 
example immediately, I observed that the chief lady was 
entering the room. Very delightful is this outward re- 
spect for parents, which is not here, as in England, con- 
fined to a few of the families of the great ; and when ac- 
companied with that devotion of heart so evident in the 
conduct of the daughters of Habeeb Efendee. Their 
veneration for their amiable mother is complete ; while 
they are permitted by her, in their conversation and man- 
ners, to indulge in the sweetest familiarity of affection. 

This good lady saluted us in her usual charming man- 
ner, and took her seat, placing me, as she always has 
done, on her right hand ; after which all resumed their 
places, and she listened with extreme interest to our con- 
versation, which was translated to her into Turkish by 
her daughters. In common with all the Turkish ladies I 
have seen in this country, the wife of Habeeb Efendee 
speaks sufficient Arabic for the usual purposes of conver- 
sation ; but when any particularly interesting topic is dis- 
cussed, they all like it explained in their own language. 

The eldest daughter requested to be informed particu- 
larly of the nature of the demand lately made by England 
and France on the Sultan ; and when it was explained 
that he was required to protect from martyrdom such 
persons who, having been originally Christian, had be- 
come Muslims, and subsequently returned to their first 
profession, she replied, with an earnestness of manner 
which interested my friend and me extremely, "It is but 
the fulfilment of prophecy ! When I was a little child, I 
was taught that, in this year, great things would com- 
mence, which would require three years for their comple- 
tion." 

Surely she drew a beautiful conclusion, and under cir- 
cumstances, too, of painful feelings to one strictly attached 
to the laws of her religion. And here I must faithfully 
observe, that I have not met with this lady's equal in 



THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN EGYPT. 233 

Eastern female society, in gentleness, sweetness, and good 
sense ; and, withal, she has decidedly a cultivated mind. 
The Hon. Mrs. Darner has very agreeably described this 
lady in her " Tour," and has particularly mentioned her 
affection for her mother. I must not omit to tell you of 
the curiosity of the whole hareem on the subject of Mrs. 
Darner's book. They had been informed that she had de- 
scribed them, and questioned us closely on the subject. 
We had much pleasure in assuring them that the descrip- 
tion in that lady's work consisted in honourable mention 
of her reception by the hareem, and of their agreeable 
manners, and perfect politeness and cordiality. They in- 
quired the exact period of her visit, that they might per- 
fectly recall her to their recollection. Secluded as they 
are, they remember the visits of Europeans as eras in 
their lives ; and I am persuaded that they feel the plea- 
sure they so agreeably express when we pay them a 
visit 

Mrs. Sieder has shown them the portrait of the present 
Sultan in Mrs. Darner's book ; and the eldest daughter 
has made a copy of it in colours, very creditable to a 
Turkish lady. It will doubtless excite great interest in 
every visiter of the family; and, unless protected by a 
glass, it will perhaps, in the course of a few weeks, be 
kissed entirely away, like a miniature portrait of a Turk- 
ish grandee of which I was lately told. 



20* 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



[From Mr. Lane's "Modern Egyptians." 



MAGIC. 

A few days after my first arrival m this country, my 
curiosity was excited on the subject of magic by a cir- 
cumstance related to me by Mr. Salt, our consul-general. 
Having had reason to believe that one of his servants was 
a thief, from the fact of several articles of property having 
been stolen from his house, he sent for a celebrated Magh- 
rab'ee magician, with the view of intimidating them and 
causing the guilty one (if any of them were guilty) to 
confess his crime. The magician came ; and said that 
he would cause the exact image of the person who had 
committed the thefts to appear to any youth not arrived 
at the age of puberty ; and desired the master of the 
house to call in any boy whom he might choose. As se- 
veral boys were then employed in a garden adjacent to 
the house, one of them was called for this purpose. In 
the palm of this boy's right hand the magician drew, with 
a pen, a certain diagram, in the centre of which he 
poured a little ink. Into this ink he desired the boy 
steadfastly to look. He then burned some incense and 
several bits of paper inscribed with charms ; and, at the 



238 APPENDIX. 

same time, called for various objects to appear in the ink. 
The boy declared that he saw all these objects, and, last 
of all, the image of the guilty person ; he described his 
stature, countenance and dress ; said that he knew him ; 
and directly ran down into the garden, and apprehended 
one of the labourers, who, when brought before the 
master, immediately confessed that he was the thief. 

The above relation made me desirous of witnessing a 
similar performance during my first visit to this country ; 
but not being acquainted with the name of the magician 
here alluded to, or his place of abode, I was unable to ob- 
tain any tidings of him. I learned, however, soon after 
my return to England, that he had become known to later 
travellers in Egypt ; was residing in Cairo ; and that he 
was called the sheykh 'Abd-El-Kadir El-Maghrab'ee. A 
few weeks after my second arrival in Egypt, my neigh- 
bour 'Osman, interpreter of the British consulate, brought 
him to me ; and I fixed a day for his visiting me, to give 
me a proof of the skill for which he is so much famed. 
He came at the time appointed, about two hours before 
noon ; but seemed uneasy ; frequently looked up at the 
sky through the window ; and remarked that the weather 
was' unpropitious ; it was dull and cloudy, and the wind 
was boisterous. The experiment was performed with 
three boys ; one after another. With the first it was per- 
fectly successful ; but with the others, it completely failed. 
The magician said that he could do nothing more that 
day ; and that he would come in the evening of a subse- 
quent day. He kept his appointment ; and admitted that 
the time was favourable. While waiting for my neigh- 
bour, before mentioned, to come and witness the per- 
formances, we took pipes and coffee ; and the magician 
chatted with me on indifferent subjects. He is a fine, tall, 
and stout man, of a rather fair complexion, with a dark- 
brown beard ; is shabbily dressed ; and generally wears a 
large green turban, being a descendant of the prophet. 
In his conversation, he is affable and unaffected. He 



APPENDIX. 239 

professed to me that his wonders were effected by the 
agency of good spirits ; but to others, he has said the re- 
verse — that his magic is Satanic. 

In preparing for the experiment of the magic mirror of 
ink, which, like some other performances of a similar na- 
ture, is here termed darb el-mendel, the magician first 
asked me for a reed-pen and ink, a piece of paper, and a 
pair of scissors ; and, having cut off a narrow strip ot 
paper, wrote upon it certain forms of invocation, together 
with another charm, by which he professes to accomplish 
the object of the experiment. He did not attempt to con- 
ceal these ; and on my asking him to give me copies of 
them, he readily consented, and immediately wrote them 
for me ; explaining to me, at the same time, that the ob- 
ject he had in view was accompanied through the in- 
fluence of the two first words, « Tarshun" and " Taryoo- 
shun," which, he said, were the names of two genii, his 
"familiar spirits." I compared the copies with the ori- 
ginals ; and found that they exactly agreed. 
" Tarshun ! Taryooshun ! Come down ! 

Come down ! Be present ! Whither are gone 

the prince and his troops ? Where are El-Ahmar 

the prince and his troops ? Be present, 

ye servants of these names !" 
" And this is the removal. ' And we have removed from 
thee 

thy veil ; and thy sight to-day 

is piercing.' Correct : correct." 
Having written these, the magician cut off the paper 
containing the forms of invocation from that upon which 
the other charm was written ; and cut the former into six 
strips. He then explained to me that the object of the 
latter charm (which contains part of the 21st verse of the 
Soorat Kaf, or 50th chapter of the Kur-an) was to open 
the boy's eyes in a supernatural manner ; to make his 
sight pierce into what is to us the invisible world. 

I had prepared by the magician's direction, some frank^ 



240 



incense and coriander-seed,* and a chafing-dish with 
some live charcoal in it. These were now brought into 
the room, together with the boy who was to be em- 
ployed : he had been called in, by my desire, from among 
some boys in the street, returning from a manufactory : 
and was about eight or nine years of age. In reply to 
my inquiry respecting the description of persons who 
could see in the magic mirror of ink, the magician said 
that they were a boy not arrived at puberty, a virgin, a 
black female slave, and a pregnant woman. The chafing- 
dish was placed before him and the boy ; and the latter 
was placed on a seat. The magician now desired my 
servant to put some frankincense and coriander-seed into 
the chafing-dish ; then, taking hold of the boy's right 
hand, he drew, in the palm of it, a magic square, of which 
a copy is here given. The figures which it contains are 
Arabic numerals.! In the centre, he poured a little ink, 
and desired the boy to look into it, and tell him if he 
could see his face reflected in it ; the boy replied that he 
saw his face clearly. The magician, holding the boy's 



* He generally requires some benzoin to be added to 
these. 

t The numbers in this magic square, in our own ordi- 
nary characters, are as follows : — 



4 


9 


2 


3 


5 


7 


8 


1 


6 



It will be seen that the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal 
rows give each the same sum, namely, 15. 



APPENDIX. 241 

hand all the while * told him to continue looking intently 
into the ink ; and not to raise his head. 

He then took one of the little strips of paper inscribed 
with the forms of invocation, and dropped it into the 
chafing-dish, upon the burning coals and perfumes, which 
had already filled the room with their smoke ; and as he 
did this, he commenced an indistinct muttering of words, 
which he continued during the whole process, excepting 
when he had to ask the boy a question, or to tell him 
what he was to say. The piece of paper containing the 
words from the Kur-an, he placed inside the fore part of 
the boy's takeeyeh, or skull-cap. He then asked him if 
he saw any thing in the ink ; and was answered " No ;" 
but about a minute after, the boy, trembling, and seem- 
ing much frightened, said, « I see a man sweeping the 
ground." u When he has done sweeping," said the 
magician, " tell me." Presently the boy said, " He has 
done." The magician then again interrupted his mutter- 
ing to ask the boy if he knew what a beyrak (or flag) 
was ; and being answered " Yes," desired him to say, 
" Bring a flag." The boy did so ; and soon said, " He 
has brought a flag." " What colour is it ?" asked the 
magician : the boy replied " Red." He was told to call 
for another flag ; which he did ; and soon after he said 
that he saw another brought ; and that it was black. In 
like manner, he was told to call for a third, fourth, fifth, 
sixth, and seventh ; which he described as being succes- 
sively brought before him ; specifying their colours, as 
white, green, black, red, and blue. The magician then 
asked him (as he did, also, each time that a new flag 
was described as being brought), " How many flags have 
you now before you ?" " Seven," answered the boy, 
While this was going on, the magician put the second 
and third of the small strips of paper upon which the 
forms of invocation were written, into the chafing-dish ; 

* This reminds us of animal magnetism, 
21 



242 APPENDIX. 

and fresh frankincense and coriander-seed having been 
repeatedly added, the fumes became painful to the eyes. 
When the boy had described the seven flags as ap- 
pearing to him, he was desired to say, " Bring the 
Sultan's tent ; and pitch it." This he did ; and in about 
a minute after, he said, "Some men have brought the 
tent; a large green tent: they are pitching it;" and pre- 
sently he added, " they have set it up." " Now," said the 
magician, " order the soldiers to come, and to pitch their 
camp around the tent of the Sultan." The boy did as he 
was desired ; and immediately said, " I see a great many 
soldiers, with their tents : they have pitched their tents." 
He was then told to order that the soldiers should be 
drawn up in ranks ; and, having done so, he presently 
said, that he saw them thus arranged. The magician 
had put the fourth of the little strips of paper into the 
chafing-dish ; and soon after, he did the same with the 
fifth. He now said, " Tell some of the people to bring a 
bull." The boy gave the order required, and said, " I 
see a bull : it is red : four men are dragging it along ; 
and three are beating it." He was told to desire them to 
kill it, and cut it up, and to put the meat in saucepans, 
and cook it. He did as he was directed ; and described 
these operations as apparently performed before his eyes. 
" Tell the soldiers," said the magician, " to eat it." The 
boy did so ; and said, " They are eating it. They have 
done ; and are washing their hands." The magician 
then told him to call for the Sultan ; and the boy, having 
done this, said, " I see the Sultan riding to his tent, on a 
bay horse ; and he has on his head a high red cap : he 
has alighted at his tent, and sat down within it." " De- 
sire them to bring coffee to the Sultan," said the magi- 
cian, " and to form the court." These orders were given 
by the boy ; and he said that he saw them performed. 
The magician had put the last of the six little strips of 
paper into the chafing-dish. In his mutterings I distin- 
guished nothing but the words of the written invocation, 



APPENDIX. 243 

frequently repeated, excepting on two or three occasions, 
when I heard him say, " If they demand information, 
inform them ; and be ye veracious." But much that he 
repeated was inaudible, and as I did not ask him to 
teach me his art, I do not pretend to assert that I am 
fully acquainted with his invocations. 

He now addressed himself to me ; and asked me if I 
wished the boy to see any person who was absent or dead. 
I named Lord Nelson ; of whom the boy had evidently 
never heard ; for it was with much difficulty that he pro- 
nounced the name, after several trials. The magician 
desired the boy to say to the Sultan — " My master salutes 
thee, and desires thee to bring Lord Nelson : bring him 
before my eyes, that I may see him, speedily." The 
boy then said so ; and almost immediately added, " A 
messenger is gone, and has returned, and brought a man, 
dressed in a black* suit of European clothes : the man 
has lost his left arm." He then paused for a moment or 
two ; and, looking more intently, and more closely into 
the ink, said, " No, he has not lost his left arm ; but it is 
placed to his breast." This correction made his descrip- 
tion more striking than it had been without it: since 
Lord Nelson generally had his empty sleeve attached to 
the breast of his coat : but it was the right arm that he 
had lost. Without saying that I suspected the boy had 
made a mistake, I asked the magician whether the ob- 
jects appeared in the ink as if actually before the eyes, or 
as if in a glass, which makes the right appear left. He 
answered, that they appeared as in a mirror. This ren- 
dered the boy's description faultless.f 

* Dark blue is called, by the modern Egyptians, eswed* 
which properly signifies black, and is therefore so trans- 
lated here. 

t Whenever I desired the boy to call for any person, 
to appear, I paid particular attention both to the magician 
and to 'Osman. The latter gave no direction either by 



244 



APPENDIX. 



The next person I called for was a native of Egypt, 
who has been for many years resident in England, where 
he has adopted our dress ; and who had been long con- 
fined to his bed by illness before I embarked for this 
country : I thought that his name, one not very un- 
common in Egypt, might make the boy describe him in- 
correctly ; though another boy, on the former visit of the 
magician, had described this same person as wearing a 
European dress, like that in which I last saw him. In 
the present case the boy said, " Here is a man brought on 
a kind of bier, wrapped up in a sheet." This description 
would suit, supposing the person in question to be still 
confined to his bed, or if he be dead * The boy de- 
scribed his face as covered ; and was told to order that it 
should be uncovered. This he did ; and then said, " His 
face is pale ; and he has mustaches, but no beard :" 
which is correct. 

Several other persons were successively called for ; but 
the boy's descriptions of them were imperfect ; though not 
altogether incorrect. He represented each object as ap- 

word or sign ; and indeed he was generally unacquainted 
with the personal appearance of the individual called for. 
I took care that he had no previous communication with 
the boys ; and have seen the experiment fail when he 
could have given directions to them, or to the magician. 
In short, it would be difficult to conceive any precaution 
which I did not take. It is important to add, that the 
dialect of the magician was more intelligible to me than 
the boy. When / understood him perfectly at once, he 
was sometimes obliged to vary his words to make the boy 
comprehend what he said. 

* A few months after this was written, I had the plea- 
sure of hearing that the person here alluded to was in 
better health. Whether he was confined to his bed at 
the time when this experiment was performed, I have 
not been able to ascertain. 



APPENDIX. 245 

pearing less distinct than the preceding one; as if his 
sight were gradually becoming dim : he was a minute, or 
more, before he could give any account of the persons he 
professed to see towards the close of the performance ; and 
the magician said it was useless to proceed with him. 
Another boy was then brought in ; and the magic square, 
vfec. made in his hand ; but he could see nothing. The 
magician said he was too old. 

Though completely puzzled, I was somewhat disap- 
pointed with his performances, for they fell short of what 
he had accomplished, in many instances, in presence of 
certain of my friends and countrymen. On one of these 
occasions, an Englishman present ridiculed the perform- 
ance, and said that nothing would satisfy him but a cor- 
rect description of the appearance of his own father, of 
whom, he was sure, no one of the company had any know- 
ledge. The boy, accordingly, having called by name for 
the person alluded to, described a man in a Frank dress, 
with his hand placed to his head, wearing spectacles, and 
with one foot on the ground, and the other raised behind 
him, as if he were stepping down from a seat. The de- 
scription was exactly true in every respect : the peculiar 
position of the hand was occasioned by an almost con- 
stant headache : and that of the foot or leg, by a stiff knee, 
caused by a fall from a horse, in hunting. I am assured 
that, on this occasion, the boy accurately described each 
person and thing that was called for. On another occa- 
sion, Shakspeare was described with the most minute cor- 
rectness, both as to person and dress ; and I might add 
several other cases in which the same magician has ex- 
cited astonishment in the sober minds of Englishmen of 
my acquaintance. A short time since, after performing 
in the usual manner, by means of a boy, he prepared the 
magic mirror in the hand of a young English lady, who, 
on looking into it for a little while, said that she saw a 
broom sweeping the ground without any body holding it, 



246 APPEXDIX. 

and was so much frightened that she would look no 
longer. 

I have stated these facts partly from my own expe- 
rience, and partly as they came to my knowledge on the 
authority of respectable persons. The reader may be 
tempted to think that, in each instance, the boy saw 
images produced by some reflection in the ink ; but this 
was evidently not the case ; or that he was a confederate, 
or guided by leading questions. That there was no col- 
lusion, I satisfactorily ascertained, by selecting the boy 
who performed the part above described in my presence 
from a number of others passing by in the street, and by 
his rejecting a present which I afterwards offered him 
with the view of inducing him to confess that he did not 
really see what he had professed to have seen. I tried 
the veracity of another boy on a subsequent occasion in 
the same manner ; and the result was the same. The ex- 
periment often entirely fails ; but when the boy employed 
is right in one case, he generally is so in all : when he 
gives, at first, an account altogether wrong, the magician 
usually dismisses him at once, saying that he is too old.* 
The perfumes, or excited imagination, or fear, may be 

* It has been suggested (in the " Quarterly Review," No. 
HTj that the performances were effected by means of pic- 
tures and a concave mirror ; and that the images of the 
former were reflected from the surface of the mirror, and 
received on a cloud of smoke under the eyes of the boy. 
This, however, I cannot admit ; because such means could 
not have been employed without my perceiving them ; nor 
would the images be reversed (unless the pictures were so) 
by being reflected from the surface of a mirror, and re- 
ceived upon a second surface ; for the boy was looking 
down upon the palm of his hand, so that an image could 
not be formed upon the smoke (which was copious, but 
not dense) between his eye and the supposed mirror. 



APPENDIX. ' 247 

supposed to affect the vision of the boy who describes ob- 
jects as appearing- to him in the ink ; but, if so, why does 
he see exactly what is required, and objects of which he 
can have had no previous particular notion ? Neither I 
nor others have been able to discover any clue by which 
to penetrate the mystery ; and if the reader be alike un- 
able to give the solution, I hope that he will not allow the 
above account to induce in his mind any degree of scep- 
ticism with respect to other portions of this work." 



THE END. 



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